DC sputtered iron-doped indium saving indium tin oxide thin films using Fe3O4 target

In the present work, the properties of iron-doped indium tin oxide (ITO) films with reduced to 50 mass% indium oxide (In2O3) content prepared by co-sputtering of ITO and Fe3O4 targets in the mixed argon-oxygen atmosphere were studied by various methods such as four-point probe method, Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and dynamic force microscopy. The influence of different working gas flow rates and heat treatment temperatures on the electrical, optical, structural, and morphological properties of the films was characterized. Iron doping resulted in increasing optical transmittance of ITO thin films. It has been found that films sputtered onto preheated substrites under optimum conditions showed values of volume resistivity 1480 & mu;& omega;cm that is much lower than that of ITO50:Fe3O4 films sputtered onto unheated substrates and average optical transmittance in the visible range over 85%. It has been revealed that iron-doped ITO thin films deposited under optimum conditions have low root mean square height (S-q) 0.67 nm and arithmetical mean height (S-a) 0.52 nm.