Growth and SIMS study of d.c.-sputtered indium oxide films on silicon

Indium oxide thin films were grown onto Si and quartz substrates by d.c. reactive sputtering of elemental indium. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy studies confirmed the single-phase and polycrystalline nature of the films. Secondary ion mass spectrometry investigations of In2O3/Si structures showed the formation of an inhomogeneous interface region similar to20 nm thick between In2O3 and Si. The overall feature of the interface remained the same under annealing in an oxygen atmosphere, but annealing in an argon atmosphere drastically altered the nature of the interface. The observations indicate that interface formation and stability depend critically on the availability of oxygen. Copyright (C) 2005 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.