Effect of Growth Modes and Post-Thermal Treatments on the Electrical Properties of the Nonstoichiometric In2O3 Films

Transparent conducting nonstoichiometric indium oxide (In2O3–х) thin films have been obtained by RF magnetron sputtering of a ceramic target in an inert argon atmosphere. It is shown that, during the nonequilibrium deposition, the substrate temperature and atmospheric composition directly affect the nonstoichiometry of the deposited material and the defect structure of its nanocrystalline state. It has been concluded by analyzing the observed dependences that the nonstoichiometric film growth occurs under the condition of competing processes of heterogeneous indium oxidation and thermal desorption of oxygen from the growing surface, which prevail at a certain substrate temperature. The resulting defect structure ultimately determines the characteristics of carrier transport in the In2O3–х thin film and the thermal stability of its electrical properties.