PREPARATION AND PROPERTIES OF TRANSPARENT CONDUCTING INDIUM FILMS

As a result of the pronounced agglomeration of indium at room temperature, an appreciable film thickness (about 200 nm) must be exceeded before electrical continuity is observed. This results in an optical transmittance of about 1% in the visible region. In the present study the effects of substrate temperature and deposition rate on the electrical, optical, and structural properties of thin indium films of about 15 nm have been determined. The results indicate that lower substrate temperatures and higher deposition rates yield conducting films at a lower thickness in agreement with the theories of nucleation and growth of thin films. It was found that both a low-substrate temperature (150 K) and a high-deposition rate (1 nm/s) are required to form transparent, conducting films of indium. Thin films of indium of about 10 nm deposited on Corning 7059 glass substrates had an optical transmittance of 50% in the visible region.