Properties of germanium-doped indium oxide thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

Ge-doped indium oxide (In2O3) thin films were prepared by de magnetron sputtering. The electrical resistivity, 1.6 x 10(-4) Omega.cm, of the film deposited at 200 degrees C was obtained at 5.5% Ge doping. This was comparable with that of ITO (tin-doped In2O3) films. Furthermore, amorphous films with Ce content higher than 5.0% were obtained when the substrate temperature was 20 degrees C, while they were obtained with Ge content higher than 7.0% when the substrate temperature was 200 degrees C. The electrical resistivity of 6.0% Ge-doped amorphous In2O3 film deposited at 20 degrees C is 4.1 x 10-4 Omega.cm. The etching rate of the film by 5% HCl is 1400 Angstrom/min and is nine times as high as that of ITO films.