Pulsed laser deposition of transparent conducting indium tin oxide films in magnetic field perpendicular to plume

In2O3 doped with 5 wt% SnO2 (indium-tin oxide(ITO)(5 wt%)) films have been deposited on glass and quartz substrates in a magnetic field generated from three pieces of rare-earth permanent magnets (1.25 T flux density) placed at every 120 degrees angle to surround the plume produced by pulsed laser deposition using an ArF laser (lambda = 193 nm). In all experiments, a repetition rate of 10 Hz, an energy density of 1.5 J/cm(2), and an irradiation time of 20-30 min (12000-18000 shots) were used. The lowest resistivity of 7.2 x 10(-5) Omega -cm and an optical transmittance of more than 90% in the visible region of the spectrum were obtained for approximately 30-nm-thick ITO (5 wt%) films deposited at a substrate temperature of 300 degreesC in oxygen with a flow rate of 2 seem. Very smooth surfaces with an average surface roughness of 0.61 nm were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM).