Effects of cerium oxide doping on the microstructure and properties of ITO targets and the photoelectric properties of the films

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 30; no. 16; pp. 15469 - 15481
• Main Authors: Huang, Jingwei, Yuan, Tiechui, Mei, Fangsheng, Li, Ruidi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Bonding strength; Cerium oxides; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Densification; Density; Doping; Electrical resistivity; Fracture strength; Glass substrates; Grain size; Indium oxides; Indium tin oxides; Laboratories; Materials Science; Microstructure; Morphology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Phase composition; Photoelectric effect; Photoelectricity; Polyvinyl alcohol; Powder metallurgy; Properties (attributes); Sintering; Spectrum analysis; Thin films; Tin dioxide
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-019-01923-8

In the study, 0–2.0 wt% cerium oxides (CeO 2 ) were employed to enhance the densification and properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) targets. The effects of CeO 2 on the phase composition, microstructure, resistivity and fracture strength of ITO targets and the photoelectric properties of the films were investigated in detail. Experimental results show that the optimum doping amount of CeO 2 is 0.5 wt%. The functions of CeO 2 doping are: (1) Lowering the sintering temperature by nearly 60 °C, which is attributed to the inhibition of the decomposition of In 2 O 3 and SnO 2 ; (2) Refining the grain size and promoting the formation of In 4 Sn 3 O 12 phase; (3) As the donor dopant to reduce the resistivity of ITO targets and strengthening the inter-facial bonding force so as to enhance the fracture strength of ITO targets; (4) Intensifying the disorder of film non-crystals, improving the surface morphology and enhancing the transmittance.