Transparent conducting zinc-co-doped ITO films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Abstract Zn-co-doped indium-tin-oxide (ITO) films have been prepared by dc magnetron sputtering using powder targets. Zn-co-doped ITO films with a practical etching rate as well as a low resistivity were obtained; in particular, etching rate could be controlled by varying the Zn content doped into ITO. In addition, a resistivity of 2–3×10−4 Ω cm was obtained in Zn-co-doped ITO films prepared with a Sn content of 9.3 at.% and a Zn content of 0–34.1 at.% under optimized target preparation and sputter deposition conditions. The spatial distribution of electrical properties on the substrate surface in Zn-co-doped ITO films was considerably affected by the Zn content. A relatively uniform distribution of electrical properties was obtained in films prepared with a Zn content in the range of 15–34.1 at.%.