Preparation of highly transparent and low resistive indium tin oxide thin film by direct current low-power sputtering

IF 2.4 4区材料科学 Q3 MATERIALS SCIENCE, COATINGS & FILMS

Thin Solid Films Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-14 DOI:10.1016/j.tsf.2026.140892

Xueqi Chen, Manyao Wang, Zongyu Huang, Xiang Qi

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Abstract

Indium tin oxide (ITO) films were prepared by 15–100 W direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering and then annealed at high temperature. The effect of sputtering power on the structural, optical and electrical properties of the films was systematically investigated. Optical transmittance in the visible range (400–800 nm) decreased from 89% (15 W) to 24% (100 W) due to defect-mediated light scattering, but recovered to >85% after annealing. Electrical measurements indicate that annealing in an argon atmosphere enhances carrier concentration by promoting oxygen desorption, significantly reducing resistivity and yielding superior performance compared to samples annealed in air or vacuum. The optimal sputtering power of 60 W yields a high figure of merit (649 × 10^–4 Ω^-1) with a balance of low resistivity (7 × 10^–5 Ωcm), low square resistance (6 ± 0.23 Ω/sq), and high transmittance (91%). This study proposes an optimised process route for achieving high-performance ITO thin films. By mitigating target material depletion issues and overcoming traditional high-power limitations, it broadens the process's applicability, holding significant value for industrial implementation.

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直流低功率溅射制备高透明低阻氧化铟锡薄膜

采用15 ~ 100 W直流磁控溅射法制备氧化铟锡（ITO）薄膜，并对其进行高温退火。系统地研究了溅射功率对薄膜结构、光学和电学性能的影响。在可见光范围（400-800 nm），由于缺陷介导的光散射，透射率从89% （15 W）下降到24% (100 W)，退火后恢复到85%。电学测量表明，与在空气或真空中退火的样品相比，在氩气气氛中退火通过促进氧解吸来提高载流子浓度，显着降低电阻率并产生优越的性能。最佳溅射功率为60 W，具有高品质系数（649 × 10-4 Ω-1）、低电阻率（7 × 10-5 Ωcm）、低平方电阻（6±0.23 Ω/sq）和高透光率（91%）的平衡。本研究提出了一种优化的制备高性能ITO薄膜的工艺路线。通过减轻目标材料耗竭问题和克服传统的高功率限制，它拓宽了该工艺的适用性，对工业实施具有重要价值。

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来源期刊

Thin Solid Films 工程技术-材料科学：膜

CiteScore

4.00

自引率

4.80%

发文量

381

审稿时长

7.5 months

期刊介绍： Thin Solid Films is an international journal which serves scientists and engineers working in the fields of thin-film synthesis, characterization, and applications. The field of thin films, which can be defined as the confluence of materials science, surface science, and applied physics, has become an identifiable unified discipline of scientific endeavor.