In-situ resistance measurements during pulsed laser deposition of ultrathin films

In-situ resistance measurement is a powerful technique for monitoring the growth and properties of thin films. In this paper, we showed that it can be applied to study the initial growth mechanisms of indium tin oxide on glass. An interesting transition from a 3D growth mode at low temperature to 2D growth at higher temperature was observed. The transition from the Volmer-Weber mechanism to the Stranski-Krastanov mechanism occurs at 200°C. The density of nucleation sites for the deposition of ITO on glass is also shown to increase as a function of substrate temperature. This result is consistent with thermally activated nucleation on the glass substrate.