Abstract
A novel plasma exposure technique has been introduced into conventional magnetron sputtering process to enhance the crystallization of indium oxide (In2O3) films at room temperature. The effect of plasma exposure technique with different pulsed DC voltages on the electrical and mechanical properties of In2O3 films was investigated. It is observed that film crystallization can be significantly enhanced when the pulsed DC voltage (|V p|) is higher than |−500 V| (|V p| > |−500 V|). By applying the plasma exposure process, In2O3 films prepared at room temperature with thickness of 135 nm shows low resistivity of 4.11 × 10−4 Ω cm, mobility of 42.1 cm2/Vs, and transmittance over 80 % in the visible range. Compared with the In2O3 films without plasma exposure process, the In2O3 films with plasma exposure show better crystallization and remarkably higher nanohardness. The plasma exposure technique is a useful candidate technique for enhancing film crystallization at low temperature.
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Acknowledgements
The support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51072039 and 51222205), the Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20120177002) and Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-10-0070) is highly appreciated.
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Yang, L., Zhu, J., Bai, J. et al. Plasma exposure inducing crystallization of indium oxide film with improved electrical and mechanical properties at room temperature. J Mater Sci 49, 5955–5960 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8314-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8314-0