Structural, optical and electrical properties of Al–In–Sn–O (AITO) films fabricated via MOCVD technique

• Published in: Journal of alloys and compounds Vol. 831; p. 154821
• Main Authors: Li, Zhao, Liu, Shiming, Li, Shutao, Wu, Xueying, Liu, Yunyan, Xiu, Junshan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 05.08.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Aluminum; Crystal structure; Crystallinity; Electrical properties; Electrical resistivity; Energy gap; Heterojunctions; Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition; Optical properties; Organic chemicals; Organic chemistry; Quantum wells; Substrates; TEM; Thin films; Tin; Titanium nitride; Vapor deposition; X-ray diffraction; Thin films; X-ray diffraction; Vapor deposition; TEM; Optical properties
• ISSN: 0925-8388; 1873-4669
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.154821

Al–In–Sn–O (AITO) films were grown onto MgO (100) substrates via metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. XRD analyses revealed that as the Sn concentration increased from 0% to 24%, the AITO film turned from amorphous structure to monophasic crystalline state, and then degenerated to miscible crystalline structure. The resistivity of the film was reduced by two orders of magnitude by adding tin element with the lowest resistivity of 1.32 × 10−3 Ω cm and the highest mobility of 18.5 cm2 V−1s−1 obtained for the AITO film with 21% tin content. The average transmittance of the AITO samples in the visible wavelength was over 83%. The optical band gap decreased from 5.42 to 4.18 eV as the Sn content increased from 0% to 24%. The AITO with both wider band gap and better conductivity is a promising heterojunctions and quantum wells material. •Quaternary AITO films were deposited on MgO(100) by MOCVD.•The microstructure of the AITO films were studied upon HRTEM.•AITO alloy films exhibited great optical transparency in the visible wavelength range.•A lowest resistivity of 1.32 × 10−3 Ω cm and a highest mobility of 18.5 cm2 V−1s−1 are obtained for the AITO film with 21% Sn content.