Abstract

Abstract

A comparison of the properties between Tin-doped Indium Oxide (ITO) films fabricated by sputtering and spray pyrolysis is presented. This analysis shows that the ITO films fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering in pure argon gas requires of a subsequent annealing for the improvement of their structural, electrical and optical properties, when they are compared to films fabricated by single-stage spray pyrolysis process that includes a new approach. The optimum annealing temperature for ITO films sputtered at room temperature lies in the 300-350°C range. Under such conditions, the ITO sputtered films are slightly more resistive than the resistivity (2 × 10 -4 -cm) shown by films sprayed at 480°C using a solution with a 5 % of tin to indium ratio, and almost four times the worst value of the combination of transparency and conductivity determined by the value of the figure of merit (FOM). The sprayed films have a high value of the FOM, 2.9×10 -2 -1 , which is comparable with the best published results.

High-quality indium tin oxide (ITO) films have been fabricated using a DC sputtering technique in a pure argon atmosphere with a postannealing in an oxygen environment at atmosphere pressure. Structural, morphological, and electro-optical parameters of the ITO films were studied at different annealing temperatures for the films fabricated on two types of glass substrates, soda lime and alkali-free substrates. A comparative analysis shows that low-cost soda lime substrates are suitable for the fabrication of high-quality nanocrystalline ITO films after annealing them at 300°C. This result is of great importance for reducing the cost of thin film solar cells, in which ITO films serve as transparent conducting electrodes. We present a comparison of the properties of sputtered ITO films with those fabricated using a spray pyrolysis deposition technique, which is useful for some optoelectronic applications.

Design and characteristics of wide‐band UV sensors based on ITO/GaP heterostructures are discussed. Such sensors have perfect electrical parameters and high UV‐visible sensitivity in comparison with surface‐barrier structures using a semi‐transparent thin metal film as an electrode. Many applications require UV sensors with an effective rejection of visible radiation and a wide temperature operating interval.For this aim, the theoretical modelling of extreme selective optical sensors with a double Ag/ITO thin film on the GaP surface, in which the thin silver film serves as a narrow bandpass filter at 320 nm, has been conducted. With this modelling the optimal thickness combination for the silver and ITO films was found for the maximum rejection of the sensitivity to visible radiation (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)