Laser direct patterning induced the tunable optical properties of indium tin oxide micro-hole arrays films

Here we introduce a facile method to fabricate patterned indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films via selective laser ablation at ambient conditions. By scanning the ITO thin films with focused Nd: YAG pulsed laser, the ITO thin films were selective ablated and patterned without using any conventional chemical etching or photolithography steps. Then we investigated the effects of scanning rate for the structure, morphology and optical properties of patterned ITO thin film. These results indicate that the epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) wavelength of ITO thin films can be tuned from 1100 nm to 1340 nm by adjusting the period of the micro-hole array in microstructure. The nonlinear absorption response of patterned ITO films was about 2.85 time than of the as-deposited ITO thin film. Additionally, the results of the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation are in good agreement with those of the experiments.     

The effect of Ag intermediate layer on crystalline, optical and electrical properties of nano-structured thin film

ITO thin films and ITO/Ag/ITO multilayered films were prepared on glass substrate by reactive thermal evaporation technique without intentionally heating the substrate. After deposition the films were annealed in air at three different temperatures (300°C, 420°C and 540°C). The thickness of each layer in the ITO/Ag/ITO films was kept constant at 50 nm/10 nm/40 nm. The opto-electrical and structural properties of ITO/Ag/ITO multilayered films were compared with conventional ITO single-layer films. Although both films had identical thickness, 100 nm, the ITO/Ag/ITO films showed a lower resistivity. XRD spectra showed that Ag intermediate layer had a small effect on crystalline properties of ITO/Ag/ITO films.     

Electrical and optical properties of indium tin oxide thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films (200-400 nm in thickness) have been grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on glass substrates without a post-deposition anneal. The electrical and optical properties of these films have been investigated as a function of substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure during deposition. Films were deposited at substrate temperatures ranging from room temperature to 300 °C in O₂ partial pressures ranging from 0.1 to 100 mTorr. For 300 nm thick ITO films grown at room temperature in oxygen pressure of 10 mTorr, the electrical conductivity was 2.6᎒^-3 Q^-1cm^-1 and the average optical transmittance was 83% in the visible range (400-700 nm). For 300 nm thick ITO films deposited at 300 °C in 10 mTorr of oxygen, the conductivity was 5.2᎒^-3 Q^-1cm^-1 and the average transmittance in the visible range was 87%. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements showed that the RMS surface roughness for the ITO films grown at room temperature was ~7 Å, which is the lowest reported value for the ITO films grown by any film growth technique at room temperature.     

ps-laser scribing of CIGS films at different wavelengths

Continuous growth of the thin-film electronics market stimulates the development of versatile technologies for large-scale patterning of thin-film materials on rigid and flexible substrates, and laser technologies are a promising method to accomplish the scribing processes. Lasers with picosecond pulse duration were applied in scribing of complex multilayered CuIn _x Ga_(1−x)Se₂ (CIGS) solar cells deposited on a polyimide substrate. The ablative properties of the films were examined as a function of the wavelength of laser radiation, pulse energy, and the irradiation dose. The selective removal of ITO and CIGS layers was achieved with 355 nm irradiation without any significant damage to the underlying layers in the ITO/CIGS/Mo/PI solar cell system. The 355 nm wavelength was also found to be favorable for scribing of absorber layer in a ZnO/CIGS/Mo/PI solar cell system. 266 nm radiation significantly modified the film structure due to high absorption. Extensive melt formation in the CIGS layer was found when 532 nm radiation was applied, though the trenches were smooth and crack-free.     

Deposition and characterization of ITO films produced by laser ablation at 355 nm

Indium tin oxide (ITO) films have been deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at 355 nm. Even though the absorption of laser light at the wavelength 355 nm is much smaller than that of the standard excimer lasers for PLD at 248 nm and 193 nm, high-quality films can be produced. At high fluence and at high substrate temperatures, the specific resistivity of the films, 2–3×10^-4 Ω cm, is comparable to values obtained with excimer lasers, whereas the resistivities obtained at room temperature are somewhat higher than those of films produced by excimer lasers. The transmission coefficient of visible light, about 0.9, is also comparable to values for films deposited by excimer lasers. The crystalline structure of films produced at 355 nm is similar to that of samples produced by these lasers. Received: 16 January 2001 / Accepted: 24 July 2001 / Published online: 17 October 2001     

Electrical and optical properties of ITO and ITO/Cr-doped ITO films

In this paper we report on the effects of the insertion of Cr atoms on the electrical and optical properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) films to be used as electrodes in spin-polarized light-emitting devices. ITO films and ITO(80 nm)/Cr-doped ITO(20 nm) bilayers and Cr-doped ITO films with a thickness of 20 nm were grown by pulsed ArF excimer laser deposition. The optical, structural, morphological and electrical properties of ITO films and ITO/Cr-doped structures were characterized by UV–Visible transmission and reflection spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Hall-effect analysis. For the different investigations, the samples were deposited on different substrates like silica and carbon coated Cu grids. ITO films with a thickness of 100 nm, a resistivity as low as ～4×10^?4 Ω?cm, an energy gap of ～4.3 eV and an atomic scale roughness were deposited at room temperature without any post-deposition process. The insertion of Cr into the ITO matrix in the upper 20 nm of the ITO matrix induced variations in the physical properties of the structure like an increase of average roughness (～0.4–0.5 nm) and resistivity (up to ～8×10^?4 Ω?cm). These variations were correlated to the microstructure of the Cr-doped ITO films with particular attention to the upper 20 nm.     

1 064 nm激光对氧化铟锡薄膜的损伤研究

 液晶光学器件在激光光束精密控制上具有重要应用前景,氧化铟锡（ITO）薄膜作为液晶光学器件的透明导电电极,是液晶器件激光损伤的薄弱环节。为此,建立了ITO薄膜激光热损伤物理模型。理论计算结果表明：1 064 nm激光对ITO薄膜的损伤主要为热应力损伤;连续激光辐照下,薄膜损伤始于靠近界面的玻璃基底内;脉冲激光辐照下,温升主要发生在光斑范围内的膜层,薄膜损伤从表面开始。利用泵浦探测技术,研究了ITO薄膜的损伤情况,测量了不同功率密度激光辐照后薄膜的方块电阻,结合1-on-1法测定了ITO薄膜的50%损伤几率阈值。实验结果表明：薄膜越厚,方块电阻越小,激光损伤阈值越低;薄膜未完全损伤前,方块电阻随激光功率密度的增加而增大。理论计算与实验结果吻合较好。设计液晶光学器件中的ITO薄膜电极厚度时,应综合考虑激光损伤、透光率及薄膜电阻的影响。     

基于金属掺杂ITO透明导电层的紫外LED制备

为降低ITO薄膜对紫外波段的光吸收,制备低电压高功率的紫外LED,研究了一种基于金属掺杂ITO透明导电层的365 nm紫外LED的制备工艺。利用1 cm厚的石英片生长了不同厚度ITO薄膜以及在ITO上掺杂不同金属的新型薄膜,并研究了在不同的退火条件下这种薄膜的电阻和透过率,分析了掺杂金属ITO薄膜的带隙变化。将这种掺杂的ITO薄膜生长在365 nm外延片上并完成电极生长,制备成14 mil×28 mil的正装LED芯片。利用电致发光（EL）设备对LED光电性能进行测试并对比。实验结果表明:掺Al金属的ITO薄膜能够相对ITO薄膜的带隙提高0.15 eV。在600℃退火后,方块电阻降低6.2 Ω/□,透过率在356 nm处达到90.8%。在120 mA注入电流下,365 nm LED的电压降低0.3 V,功率提高14.7%。ITO薄膜掺金属能够影响薄膜带隙,改变紫光LED光电性能。     

Laser direct imaging of transparent indium tin oxide electrodes using high speed stitching techniques

To accomplish an electrode patterning in large area, we present a high speed stitching technique used in an ultraviolet laser processing system and investigate the interaction between laser beams and indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films deposited on glass substrates. After optimizing the process parameters of the laser direct imaging (LDI) for the large-area electrode patterning, the ablated lines looked like regularly fish-scale marks of about a 40 μm diameter and a 120 nm depth around the processing path. The parameters includes the laser power of 1W, the scanning speed of galvanometers of 800 mm/s, and the laser pulse repetition frequency of 50 kHz. Moreover, the resistance value of the ablated ITO thin film is larger than 200MΩ that is electrically insulated from the other regions of electrode structure. LDI technology with UV laser beam has great potential applications in patterning on wafer or sapphire substrates and patterning a conductive layer deposited on the touch panels for semiconductor and optoelectric industries, respectively.     

铟锡氧化物薄膜表面等离子体损耗降低的研究

本文采用直流磁控溅射方法在普通浮法玻璃基底上制备了立方多晶铁锰矿结构的铟锡氧化物(indium tin oxide, ITO)薄膜,并对其进行了结晶性、表面粗糙度、紫外-可见吸收光谱、折射率、介电常数及霍尔效应的测试.研究了溅射时基底温度的改变对于ITO薄膜的光电、表面等离子体性质的影响.随着基底温度由100?C升高至500?C,其光学带隙(3.64—3.97eV)展宽,减少了电子带间跃迁的概率,有效降低了ITO薄膜的光学损耗.与此同时,对应ITO薄膜的载流子浓度(4.1×10~(20)-—2.48×10~(21)cm~(-3))与迁移率(24.6—32.2 cm~2·V~(-1)·s~(-1))得到提高,电学损耗明显降低.     

Incubation effect and its influence on laser patterning of ITO thin film

Results are presented on the surface damage thresholds of ITO thin films induced by single- and multi-pulse laser irradiation at a pulse duration of 10 ps and a wavelength of 1064 nm. For multi-pulse ablation the incubation effect results in a reduction of the damage threshold, especially apparent at low pulse numbers and very small film thicknesses. The incubation effect attributes to the accumulation of defect sites and/or the storage of thermal stress-strain energy induced by the incident laser pulses. An incubation coefficient of S=0.82 has been obtained which is independent on the film thickness in the range of 10–100 nm. In practical applications, the incubation effect determines the laser patterning structure of ITO films while increasing the pulse overlapping rate. The width of the patterned line can be predicted by the proposed model involving the laser fluence, the overlapping rate and the incubation coefficient.     

Patterning of indium-tin oxide on glass with picosecond lasers

The results of patterning of the indium-tin oxide (ITO) film on the glass substrate with high repetition rate picosecond lasers at various wavelengths are presented. Laser radiation initiated the ablation of the material, forming grooves in ITO. Profile of the grooves was analyzed with a phase contrast optical microscope, a stylus type profiler, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). Clean removal of the ITO film was achieved with the 266 nm radiation when laser fluence was above the threshold at 0.20 J/cm², while for the 355 nm radiation, the threshold was higher, above 0.46 J/cm². The glass substrate was damaged in the area where the fluence was higher than 1.55 J/cm². The 532 nm radiation allowed getting well defined grooves, but a lot of residues in the form of dust were generated on the surface. UV radiation with the 266 nm wavelength provided the widest working window for ITO ablation without damage of the substrate. Use of UV laser radiation with fluences close to the ablation threshold made it possible to minimize surface contamination and the recast ridge formation during the process.     

Characterization of dip-coated ITO films derived from nanoparticles synthesized by␣low-pressure spray pyrolysis

In₂O₃:Sn (Indium Tin Oxide; ITO) films were prepared from a sol solution with highly crystalline ITO nanoparticles (less than 20 nm in size with 10 at.% Sn) which had been prepared by low-pressure spray pyrolysis (LPSP) in a single step. The ITO sol solution was prepared by dispersing LPSP-prepared ITO nanoparticles into ultra pure water. The nanoparticle ITO film was deposited on a glass substrate using a dip-coating method and then annealed in air at various temperatures. The optical transmittances of the ITO films were measured by UV–Vis spectrometry, and the films were found to have a high transparency to visible light (in the case of a film thickness of 250 nm annealed at 400°C, the transparency was in excess of 95% over the range λ=450–800 nm, with a maximum value near 100% at wavelengths above λ=700 nm). The optical transmittances of the films were influenced by the size of the ITO particle used, the film thickness and the annealing temperature. The ITO films showed a minimum resistivity of 9.5×10⁻² Ω cm, and their resistivity was affected by both the ITO particle size and the annealing temperature used.     

Femtosecond laser patterning of Ta0.1W0.9Ox/ITO thin film stack

Selective laser patterning of thin films in a multilayered structure is an emerging technology for process development and fabrication of optoelectronics and microelectronics devices. In this work, femtosecond laser patterning of electrochromic Ta_0.1W_0.9O_x film coated on ITO glass has been studied to understand the selective removal mechanism and to determine the optimal parameters for patterning process. A 775 nm Ti:sapphire laser with a pulse duration of 150 fs operating at 1 kHz was used to irradiate the thin film stacks with variations in process parameters such as laser fluence, feedrate and numerical aperture of objective lens. The surface morphologies of the laser irradiated regions have been examined using a scanning electron microscopy and an optical surface profiler. Morphological analysis indicates that the mechanism responsible for the removal of Ta_0.1W_0.9O_x thin films from the ITO glass is a combination of blistering and explosive fracture induced by abrupt thermal expansion. Although the pattern quality is divided into partial removal, complete removal, and ITO film damage, the ITO film surface is slightly melted even at the complete removal condition. Optimal process window, which results in complete removal of Ta_0.1W_0.9O_x thin film without ablation damage in the ITO layer, have been established. From this study, it is found that focusing lens with longer focal length is preferable for damage-free pattern generation and shorter machining time.     

Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6薄膜的电光特性

用激光脉冲沉积(PLD)法在MgO(001)衬底上成功地生长、制备出了外延Sr_0.61Ba_0.39Nb₂O₆(SBN61)电光薄膜;通过SBN61电光薄膜椭偏光谱测量的分析研究,得到了SBN61电光薄膜的光学常数;通过电致双折射方法对生长在(001)MgO衬底上的SBN61薄膜的电光性能进行了测量研究,发现SBN61电光薄膜电致双折射的变化Δn与所加电场E成平方关系,其二次电光系数R=0.21×10^-16(m/V)²。     

Indium and tin oxide polycrystalline thin films as NO gas sensors produced by reactive pulsed laser ablation and deposition

Pulsed laser ablation is a very interesting method of depositing thin films of several materials and compounds, such as oxides, nitrides, insulators, semiconductors, and superconductors. Indium and tin oxide polycrystalline thin films have been grown on silicon (100) substrates by reactive PLD from two metallic targets of indium and tin by multilayered deposition, in the presence of oxygen, using a frequency-doubled Nd-YAG laser (5=532 nm). The films produced have been studied to evaluate their use as NO gas sensors, and the best performance has been found by varying some important parameters, such as the substrate temperature and the pressure of oxygen in the deposition chamber. X-ray diffraction analysis of the deposited films shows that they are polycrystalline with a preferential (400) orientation. Electrical resistivity measurements, performed by using a four-point probe technique, show a sharp increase in resistivity when the films are exposed to NO. The electrical responses of tin oxide-indium oxide multilayered thin films are reported.     

Laser mass spectrometry study of the properties of fullerene structures

Fullerene films grown by various methods are studied using mass spectrometry. The mass spectra of the films formed onto an aluminum foil using thermal deposition (TD) or supersonic molecular beam (SMB) exhibit a small change in the mass peak distribution in the C₁₂₀ dimer range as compared to the initial fullerene powder during desorption by laser radiation irrespective of the radiation wavelength (λ = 259, 518 nm). Under the action of laser radiation with wavelength λ = 259 nm, fullerene films grown on a silicon substrate with an SMB also exhibit a small change in the mass peak distribution in the C₁₂₀ dimer range. At λ = 518 nm, the mass peak distribution in the dimer range shifts significantly toward small masses, so that the intensity maximum corresponds to M ≅ C₁₀₂. This fact is assumed to be related to the polymerization of an SMB fullerene film caused by heating due to the absorption of laser radiation with a wavelength λ = 518 nm.     

Laser-induced fabrication of randomly distributed nanostructures in fused silica surfaces

The nanostructuring of dielectrics is a big challenge for laser patterning methods. In this study a novel laser structuring method for the fabrication of randomly distributed nanostructures, called laser-induced front side etching using in situ pre-structured metal layers (IPSM-LIFE), is presented. The pulsed laser irradiation of a thin metal film deposited onto a dielectric substrate with fluences below the ablation threshold results in the formation of randomly distributed metal structures by self-assembly processes. Further pulsed laser irradiation of these metal structures with higher or equal laser fluences causes the formation of complex patterns at the surface of the dielectric due to localized ablation and melting processes of the dielectric surface induced by the absorption of the laser energy by the metal structures and the local energy transfer into the dielectric surface. The pattern formation observed in the film and the dielectrics substrate after irradiation of 10 nm chromium layers on fused silica, with laser pulses (Δt _p =25 ns, λ=248 nm), was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Different features with a lateral size down to a few tens of nanometers, like concentric ring patterns, donut-like structures, and bar patterns were observed at the dielectric.     

Thickness dependence of electrical properties of ITO film deposited on a plastic substrate by RF magnetron sputtering

Indium tin oxide (ITO) films with various thicknesses in range of 40-280 nm were prepared onto a plastic substrate (PMMA). Deposition was carried out with RF magnetron sputtering method and the substrate temperature was held at ∼70 °C, in lack of the thermal damage to the polymer substrate. Changes in microstructure and electrical properties of ITO films according to their thicknesses were investigated. It was found that amorphous layer with thickness of 80 nm was formed at the interface on the polymer substrate and polycrystalline ITO could be obtained above the thickness. Conductivity of ITO films was found to be strongly dependent on the crystallinity. Consequently, it is suggested that crystallinity of the deposited films should be enhanced at the initial stage of deposition and the thickness of amorphous region be reduced in order to prepare high quality ITO thin films on polymer substrates.     

Laser-induced forward transfer technique for maskless patterning of amorphous V2O5 thin film

A laser-induced forward transfer technique has been applied for the maskless patterning of amorphous V₂O₅ thin films. A sheet beam of a frequency doubled (SHG) Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was irradiated on a transparent glass substrate (donor), the rear surface of which was pre-coated with a vacuum-deposited V₂O₅ 180 nm thick film was either in direct contact with a second glass substrate (receiver) or a 0.14 mm air-gap was maintained between the donor film and the receiving substrate. Clear, regular stripe pattern of the laser-induced transferred film was obtained on the receiver. The pattern was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX), atomic force microscopy (AFM), etc.