Rapid heat treatment for spin coated ITO films by electron plasma annealing method

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 411; no. 1; pp. 46 - 49
• Main Authors: Wakagi, Masatoshi, Chahara, Ken-ichi, Onisawa, Ken-ichi, Kawakubo, Yukio, Kichikawa, Toshimichi, Satoh, Tadashi, Minemura, Tetsuroh
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 22.05.2002; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Annealing; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electrical properties of specific thin films; Electron plasma; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; ITO; Liquid phase epitaxy; deposition from liquid phases (melts, solutions, and surface layers on liquids); Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Other inorganic semiconductors; Physics; Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges; Physics of plasmas and electric discharges; Plasma applications; Spin coating; Electron plasma; Annealing; ITO; Spin coating; Inorganic compounds; Electrical conductivity; Electron plasma waves; Films; Oxides; Surface treatments; XRD; Experimental study; Fabrication property relation; Conducting materials; Tin oxides; Rapid thermal processing; Transmission electron microscopy; Crystal growth from solutions; Spin-on coating; Indium oxides; Transparent material
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/S0040-6090(02)00172-4

A method of Electron Plasma Annealing (EPA) is developed. The EPA method allows a lower substrate temperature to be used in spin-coating-type ITO film fabrication. Using the EPA method is expected to have beneficial sample surface heating and plasma treatment effects. The ITO films which are treated in an N 2 gas atmosphere by EPA exhibit lower resistivity and higher transmittance than ITO films fabricated with a thermal treatment at 550 °C. The ITO films obtained by N 2 EPA treatment also show higher density and purity, although they have finer grain compared to the thermal annealing films. These structural features should be the reason for the good electrical and optical characteristics of ITO films.