Properties of ITO films deposited by plasma enhanced RTE on unheated polymer sheets – dependence on rf electrode distance from substrates

Abstract The influence of the radio frequency (rf) electrode distance from substrates on the properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) films (90 nm thick) deposited by plasma enhanced RTE onto unheated polymer substrates is studied. This distance varied in the range 6–12 cm. The polymeric substrate used was PET. Results showed that (1) an average visible transmittance of around 80% and (2) an electrical resistivity of 1.5 × 10−3 Ω cm are obtained for ITO films deposited on PET with the rf electrode 10 cm from substrates. On glass, the value of the electrical resistivity obtained is slightly lower ≈9 × 10−4 Ω cm. A study of the ITO thickness uniformity on a polymer substrate of reasonable area (15 × 15 cm2) revealed an uniformity of about 80%.