Densification of ATO Nanoceramics by Spark Plasma Sintering

High density antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) ceramic targets are the crucial materials for preparation of high quality transparent conductive ATO thin films in sputtering process. In the present work, ATO nanopowders with different Sb2O3 doping content (0 similar to 10 mol%) were used to fabricate the ATO nanoceramics by spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique, which can reduce the densification temperature and restrain a grain growth. And the effect of Sb2O3 doping content (0 similar to 10 mol%) on the density and microstructure had been investigated. The results showed that with the Sb2O3 doping content increase, the relative density of ATO nanoceramics is increased and the resistivity is decreased. When the Sb2O3 doping content is 10 mol%, the relative density is 97.2% and the resistivity is 7.9x10(-2)Omega.cm.