Low temperature high performance indium tin oxide films and applications

Abstract

High performance indium tin oxide (ITO) films with low electrical resistivity and high optical transparency were developed at a low processing temperature using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The presence of the hydrogen species during the film deposition was shown to affect the film properties considerably. This work demonstrated that the surface electronic structure of ITO is relevant to the carrier concentration in the film, which is crucial for the efficient carrier injection in organic light emitting devices (OLEDs). A reduction in carrier concentration near the surface region of ITO, which was induced by NO adsorption, can result in a shift of ~0.2 eV in VBM edge at the ITO surface. The presence of a NO-induced upward surface band bending led to an increase in the sheet resistance. The clear understanding of the interaction of ITO with NO enables exploring the potential for a room temperature NO sensor using ITO-QCM structure.