Abstract
We investigated the influence of excimer-laser annealing (ELA) on the electrical, chemical, and structural properties of indium–tin oxide (ITO) films prepared by a solution process. The ITO film was prepared by the sol-gel method and annealed by excimer-laser pulses with an energy density up to 240 mJ/cm2. Hall measurements showed that the ELA substantially enhanced the electrical properties of the ITO films, including their resistivity, carrier density, and mobility, as increasing the laser energy density. In-depth x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the chemical states in the film surface showed that the ELA reduced carbon species and promoted both an oxidation and crystallization. These changes were consistent with results of x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements, where expansions in the microcrystal growth were observed for higher laser energy density. We comprehensively understand that the chemical rearrangement and concomitant crystallization are the main factors for achieving the electrical properties during the ELA. These results suggest the potential of the ELA-treated sol-gel films for providing high-quality ITO films at low temperatures toward the flexible device applications.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 168-173 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Current Applied Physics |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 Feb |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work is supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Korea (NRF-2017R1C1B2004927 and NRF-2017R1A2B4009260). This research was supported by Nano·Material Technology Development Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Korea (2009-0082580). This research was also supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTE, Korea) and Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT, Korea) through the International Cooperative R&D program (Grant No. N0001819).
Funding Information:
This work is supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea ( NRF ) grants funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning , Korea ( NRF-2017R1C1B2004927 and NRF-2017R1A2B4009260 ). This research was supported by Nano·Material Technology Development Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea ( NRF ) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning , Korea ( 2009-0082580 ). This research was also supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy ( MOTE , Korea) and Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology ( KIAT , Korea) through the International Cooperative R&D program (Grant No. N0001819 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Korean Physical Society
Keywords
- Excimer-laser annealing (ELA)
- Indium-tin oxide (ITO)
- Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
- X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS)
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Materials Science(all)
- Physics and Astronomy(all)