The influence of hydrogen gas in the ambient gas mixture on the properties of indium tin oxide films deposited on glass and acrylic substrates by dc magnetron sputtering

Abstract

In this paper we report the results of our studies on the influence of adding hydrogen to the ambient gas mixture of argon and oxygen on the properties of indium tin oxide films deposited by the dc magnetron sputtering method. The substrates used are glass and acrylic. The hydrogen flow rate has been varied keeping other deposition parameters fixed. The electrical, optical, structural and morphological properties are studied. The sheet resistance is seen to attain a minimum at a certain flow rate of hydrogen while it increases at both lower and higher flow rates. The transmission characteristics attain a maximum at the highest hydrogen gas flow rate. X-ray analysis reveals a crystalline nature with peaks at the (222), (440) and (431) directions. Glass substrates show an additional peak at (541). SEM studies show a cluster of grains and in the case of glass a more regular pattern is observed.