Optical properties of In2O3 oxidized from InN deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

Abstract Unintentionally doped and zinc-doped indium nitride (U-InN and InN:Zn) films were deposited on (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrates by radio-frequency reactive magnetron sputtering, and all samples were then treated by annealing to form In2O3 films. U-InN and InN:Zn films have similar photon absorption characteristics. The as-deposited U-InN and InN:Zn film show the absorption edge, ∼1.8–1.9 eV. After the annealing process at 500 °C for 20 min, the absorption coefficient at the visible range apparently decreases, and the absorption edge is about 3.5 eV. Two emission peaks at 3.342 eV (371 nm) and 3.238 eV (383 nm) in the 20 K photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of In2O3:Zn films were identified as the free-exciton (FE) or the near band-to-band (B–B) and conduction-band-to-acceptor (C–A) recombination, respectively.