EFFECT OF DEPOSITION PARAMETERS ON THE PROPERTIES OF IN2O3/INP JUNCTIONS

Transparent conducting indium oxide films have been prepared by means of reactive evaporation of In onto p-type InP substrates at various deposition temperatures [in the range of 25-degrees-C (RT)-330-degrees-C] and under different oxygen pressures (in the range of 8 X 10(5) Torr up to 9 X 10(-4) Torr). The chemical composition and structural properties of the films have been investigated using such analytical tools as Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), x-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The combination of AES and SEM has proved to be extremely useful for interface analysis. The concentrations of oxidized and unoxidized (elemental) In in the tested samples have been investigated by deconvolution of the appropriate Auger MNN transitions using reference spectra of In2O3 and InP. The films were found to be polycrystalline at all deposition temperatures above RT under all the tested range of oxygen pressures. Nearly stoichiometric In2O3 films have been observed on all the investigated samples. Elemental In at the interfaces of films grown at low deposition temperatures has been noted. The effect of the oxygen pressure and deposition temperature on the films properties is discussed.