Structural and Electrical Properties of In2O3 Thin Films Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition

The Indium oxide thin films were deposited from a robust target of (99.999%) pure powder by using the Pulsed laser ablation technique on Si(100) substrates at a substrate temperature of 673 K, with deposition time 10mts, A KrF (248 nm) excimer laser with varying substrate to target distance (DST). Glancing X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) patterns confirmed the formation of polycrystalline films with cubic structure with (222) preferred orientation for all the films. SEM analysis reveals that the grain size was found to decrease with increase in a substrate to target distance. The photoluminescence measurement of In2O3 thin films was carried out at an excitation wavelength of 364nm. Room temperature Photoluminescence spectra of In2O3 thin films show strong Ultraviolet emission around 403 nm with a decrease in intensity with the substrate to target distance. Hall measurements suggest that all the deposited films show n-type conductivity. Other parameters like Hall mobility, resistivity, and charge carrier concentrations were found to vary with the substrate to target distance.