Optical, Electrical and Microstructural Properties of Tin Doped Indium Oxide Films made from Sintered Nanoparticles
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OPTICAL, ELECTRICAL AND MICROSTRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF TIN DOPED INDIUM OXIDE FILMS MADE FROM SINTERED NANOPARTICLES Annette HultåkerA, Anders Hoel and Claes-Göran Granqvist Department of Materials Science, The Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P O Box 534, SE-751 21 Uppsala, Sweden. A Corresponding author: Phone: +46 18 471 31 32, Fax: +46 18 500 131, E-mail: [email protected] Arie van Doorn and Michel J. Jongerius Philips CFT, PO Box 218, 5600 MD Eindhoven, The Netherlands Detlef Burgard Nanogate GmbH, Gewerbepark Eschberger Weg, 66121 Saarbrücken, Germany
ABSTRACT
Thin transparent and electrically conductive films of tin doped indium oxide (ITO) were made by sintering of nanoparticle dispersions. The resistivity decreased to 1·10-2 Ωcm upon treatment at 800°C, while the luminous transmittance remained high. The property evolution was connected with sintering and densification as studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, X-ray Fluorescence and Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis.
INTRODUCTION
Films of tin doped indium oxide (ITO) are able to combine high visible transparency with good electrical conductivity. They are widely used in modern technology such as for flat panel displays, solar cells, switchable and low-emissivity windows, as well as for electromagnetic shielding [1]. The most prevalent production methods for ITO films are sputtering and evaporation. Many applications, including flat panel displays, require patterned ITO layers. The pattering is commonly achieved by etching which, however, is a time consuming and environmentally less favourable method. An attractive alternative would be to print the ITO structure directly onto a substrate. The purpose of this work is to investigate the microstructural, optical, and electrical properties of thin films made from an ITO nanoparticle dispersion. The ultimate goal is to develop a technique allowing thin lines of ITO to be applied by printing.
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FILM PREPARATION AND STRUCTURE
ITO particles were produced by a wet-chemical method. The average primary particle diameter and crystallite sizes were both approximately 16 nm. The tin to indium atomic ratio was 5%. 1.1 µm thick films were prepared by spin-coating a dispersion of the particles onto Corning 1737 glass and Al2O3 substrates. The thickness was measured by a mechanical stylus Dektak 3030 profilometer. Post deposition sintering was carried out in the 300°C ≤ Ts ≤ 800°C range for 2 hours. The temperature was ramped by 10°C per minute. The crystalline structure was investigated by X-ray Diffraction using a Siemens D5000 unit operating with CuKα radiation. The diffractograms were consistent with an In2O3 structure (Powder Diffraction File 06-0416). Crystallite sizes were evaluated from the (222) peak of ITO by Scherrer’s method [2]. For all samples only a minor shift in the peak location, as compared to In2O3 was noticed. Hence, the enlargement of the lattice parameter due to tin atom incorporation is small. Microstructures were studied with Scanning Electron Mi
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