Influence of RF power and fluorine doping on the properties of sputtered ITO thin films

Highly transparent and conducting ITO thin films were deposited at room temperature by RF magnetron sputtering of ITO target (95 wt% In2O3 and 5 wt% SnO2) in pure argon atmosphere. Films were deposited at target to substrate spacing of 2 cm and 4 cm. The influences of RF power on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated. The influence of fluorine incorporation on the structural and electrical properties of the films was also investigated. Enhancement of crystallinity and conductivity was observed with increase in RF power. Film deposited on glass substrates at an RF power of 50 W was oriented in the (1 0 0) direction and it showed a minimum resistivity of 1.27 × 10−3 Ω cm.