HIGHLY CONDUCTIVE AND TRANSPARENT FILMS OF TIN AND FLUORINE DOPED INDIUM OXIDE PRODUCED BY APCVD

Thin films of tin and/or fluorine doped indium oxide (ITO) produced by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) from trimethylindiumdiethyletherate, tetramethyltin, bromotrifluoromethane, and oxygen chemical sources are described. Film deposition rates in excess of 13 nm s-1 were observed. The films exhibited bulk resistivities as low as 3.5 x 10(-6) OMEGAm, with average net visible light transparency of over 88%, and indices of refraction in the range of 1.92-2.07. The film etch rate, which depends strongly on the dopant chemical flows, generally exceeds 0.33 nm s-1. X-ray photoemission spectroscopic (XPS) analysis shows that the Sn:ln ratio varies over a wide range as a function of deposition conditions, and can exceed 1:1. The electro-optical properties of the film are comparable to that of sputtered ITO. Hall mobility and n-type carrier concentration measurements yielded mu = 7.7 x 10(-3) m2 V-1 s-1 and N = 1.5 x 10(26) e- m-3 for undoped indium oxide, and mu = 3,4 x 10(-3)m2 V-1 s-1 and N = 4.4 x 10(26) e- m-3 for moderately doped ITO. Optical frequency property measurements yielded plasma wavelengths of approximately 1 mum, and a high frequency dielectric constant of about 4.4.