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Effect of Temperature on Nucleation of Nanocrystalline Indium Tin Oxide Synthesized by Electron-Beam Evaporation

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Abstract

Indium tin oxide (ITO) has been widely applied as a transparent conductive layer and optical window in light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and touch screens. In this paper, crystalline nano-sized ITO dendrites are obtained using an electron-beam evaporation technique. The surface morphology of the obtained ITO was studied for substrate temperatures of 25°C, 130°C, 180°C, and 300°C. Nano-sized crystalline dendrites were synthesized only at a substrate temperature of 300°C. The dendrites had a cubic structure, confirmed by the results of x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The growth mechanism of the nano-crystalline dendrites could be explained by a vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth model. The catalysts of the VLS process were indium and tin droplets, confirmed by varying the substrate temperature, which further influenced the nucleation of the ITO dendrites.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by Shandong Focus on R&D Projects Grant No. 2016GGX102040, National “863” High Technology Research Grant No. 2015AA03302 and Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 0205250101, 11134006, and 51321091.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Material Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, 250353, China

    Yan Shen, Yujun Zhao, Jianxing Shen & Xiangang Xu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, China

    Xiangang Xu

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  1. Yan Shen
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  2. Yujun Zhao
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  3. Jianxing Shen
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  4. Xiangang Xu
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Correspondence to Yan Shen.

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Shen, Y., Zhao, Y., Shen, J. et al. Effect of Temperature on Nucleation of Nanocrystalline Indium Tin Oxide Synthesized by Electron-Beam Evaporation. JOM 69, 1155–1159 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-017-2353-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-017-2353-3

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