Flash Lamp Annealing of ITO thin films on ultra‐thin glass

Abstract

Ultra‐fast thermal annealing of thin films with annealing times of few milliseconds are faster und more energy efficient than conventional furnace annealing methods. By using flash lamp annealing, only the surface is heated while the substrate remains cold. This allows the refinement of indium‐tin‐oxide films on rigid and ultra‐thin flexible glass and improves their conductivity and transmittance.

A review of thermal processing in the subsecond range: semiconductors and beyond

“…Typically, flexible substrates are processed in larger facilities, and comprise several processing steps such as deposition, patterning, and annealing. Consequently, the FLA tool is integrated as a module, as shown in figure 5 [26]. Moreover, the required annealing temperatures are mostly smaller than those in the semiconductor industry, but higher repetition rates are needed depending on the speed of the roll-to-roll process and the width of the flash lamp area.…”

“…The recrystallized In 2 O 3 :H layer was polycrystalline with a carrier mobility higher than 100 cm 2 /Vs which is comparable to FA at about 180 °C for 15 min. Weller and Junghähnel have fabricated crystalline, highly conductive ITO on ultra-thin glass using FLA to recrystallize the deposited ITO layer [26]. Glass substrates thinner than 200 μm are flexible and allow for the use of roll-to-roll processing.…”