Effect of thermal treatment on the electrotransport properties of thin-film In<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>, ZnO materials and the multilayer (In<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>/ZnO)<Subscript>83</Subscript> heterostructure

The effect heat treatment has on the electrotransport mechanisms in films of ZnO and In₂O₃, and in a multilayer (In₂O₃/ZnO)₈₃ structure obtained via ion-beam sputtering, is studied. It is shown that there is a mechanism of weak electron localization in the In₂O₃ and (In₂O₃/ZnO)₈₃ samples. The relaxation processes that occur during the heat treatment of In₂O₃ films are found to increase the length of elastic electron scattering, but to reduce this parameter in multilayer heterostructures.     

Co-doping effect of SnO2 and ZnO in In2O3 ceramics: Change in solubility limit and electrical properties

In this study, SnO₂ and ZnO were co-doped in In₂O₃, and the phase development and electrical characteristics were examined. When Zn²⁺ was added to 20 at.% Sn⁴⁺ contained In₂O₃, in which a large amount of In₄Sn₃O₁₂ second phase exists, the amount of the second phase decreased as the content of Zn²⁺ increased, which promoted grain growth and increased carrier mobility. In the case of a simultaneous substitution of Sn⁴⁺ and Zn²⁺ into In₂O₃ with almost the same atomic ratio, a large grain size without second phase was observed, while small grain sizes with many second phases were developed when Sn⁴⁺ and Zn²⁺ were added with different atomic ratios. The electrical characteristics analyzed by Hall effect measurement showed that the electron mobility and conductivity showed a close relationship with the microstructure, while the carrier concentration was almost constant regardless of the Zn²⁺ content.     

Control synthesis of octahedral In2O3 crystals,belts, and nanowires

Octahedral In₂O₃ crystals were synthesized by evaporation of a mixture of In₂O₃ and graphite in a horizontal double-tube system. By adjusting the experimental conditions, In₂O₃ nanowires and nanobelts were also obtained. The microstructures of the resultant In₂O₃ materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), X-ray diffraction. In addition, the growth mechanism of the octahedral In₂O₃ crystals was discussed in detail.     

Behaviour of a dense In2O3/ YSZ electrode in oxygen containing atmospheres

A study of electrical and electrochemical properties of a dense In₂O₃ electrode in contact with a single crystal YSZ electrolyte was carried out by d.c. and a.c. methods. As a result, it was found that dense In₂O₃ electrodes have high electrical conductivity but very low electrochemical activity. In a vicinity of the equilibrium potential and under the anodic polarisation, the rate of Faraday reaction at the In₂O₃ electrodes was as low as to consider the electrode a blocking one. The blocking properties of the In₂O₃ electrodes were used to measure the hole conductivity of the YSZ electrolyte in the temperature range between 795 to 1163 K and oxygen partial pressure from 1 to 10⁵ Pa. A comparison with the literature data confirmed that the dense In₂O₃ electrode blockes the ionic transfer through the YSZ. A set of experiments indicated that the oxygen exchange between the indium oxide surface presented to the oxygen containing gaseous phase and this phase is very poor. A route of the electrode process at O₂, In₂O₃ / YSZ electrode was proposed a limiting stage of which is the discharge of the oxygen ions to the atomic oxygen adsorbed on the electrode surface: $$O_0 ^x \left( {In_2 O_3 } \right)_s = V_0 ^{ \bullet \bullet } \left( {In_2 O_3 } \right)_s + O_{ad} \left( {In_2 O_3 } \right)_s + 2e'\left( {In_2 O_3 } \right).$$ The polarisation resistance decreases when platinum or the praseodymium oxide is deposited on the surface of the In₂O₃ electrodes. The cathodic polarisation also increases the electrochemical activity of the electrodes. Both the establishment of the steady state of the electrode under polarisation and the recovery of the equilibrium state by the electrode are very long processes, which are probably related to the diffusion mechanism by which the stoichiometry of the indium oxide is changed.     

Structural and optical properties of glancing angle deposited In2O3 columnar arrays and Si/In2O3 photodetector

Ordered and perpendicular columnar arrays of In₂O₃ were synthesized on conducting ITO electrode by a simple glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique. The as-deposited In₂O₃ columns were investigated by field emission gun-scanning electron microscope (FEG-SEM). The average length and diameter of the columns were estimated ～400 nm and ～100 nm, respectively. The morphology of the structure was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows the polycrystalline nature of the sample which was verified by selective area electron diffraction (SAED) analysis. The growth mechanism and optical properties of the columns were also discussed. Optical absorption shows that In₂O₃ columns have a high band to band transition at ～3.75 eV. The ultraviolet and green emissions were obtained from the In₂O₃ columnar arrays. The P-N junction was formed between In₂O₃ and P-type Si substrate. The GLAD synthesized In₂O₃ film exhibits low current conduction compared to In₂O₃ TF. However, the Si/GLAD-In₂O₃ detector shows ～1.5 times enhanced photoresponsivity than that of Si/In₂O₃ TF.     

Carrier concentration and shallow electron states in In-doped hydrothermally grown ZnO

Single-crystal ZnO has been hydrothermally grown with additional In₂O₃ in the solution. Schottky barrier contacts have been deposited by electron beam evaporation of Pd onto the face. Capacitance–voltage measurements have been performed to reveal the carrier concentration as a function of the In₂O₃ content in the solution, and secondary-ion mass spectrometry was used to measure the resulting In concentration in the samples. For an In₂O₃ content of 2×10¹⁹ cm⁻³, the average free electron concentration increased to 5×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ compared to 4×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ for the non-doped material. An increase of the In₂O₃ content to 4×10¹⁹ cm⁻³ leads to a measured carrier concentration of approximately 1×10¹⁹ cm⁻³; however, only up to a quarter of the incorporated In became electrically active. From thermal admittance spectroscopy measurements two prominent electronic levels are found, and compared with to the non-doped material case, the freeze-out of the shallow doping in the In-doped samples takes place at lower temperatures (below 80 K).     

Metallic alloy precipitates in high dose indium implanted MgO

Abstract

MgO implanted at room temperature with 150keV In⁺ ions and doses ranging from 10¹⁵ to 10¹⁷ ions cm^?2 was studied by optical absorption and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Creation of defects in the anionic sublattice (F-, F⁺-, F₂-centers) and in the cationic sublattice (V^?-centers) are observed. Subsequent annealings of the implanted crystals have shown different behaviours depending on the implanted dose. For medium dose (2 × 10¹⁶ ions cm^?2), the formation of In³⁺ species seems to be the preponderant phenomenon. At higher dose (8 × 10¹⁶ ions cm^?2), metallic precipitates are formed between 400 and 700°C. The identification of these precipitates has been achieved using TEM: they are formed of a metallic alloy Mg₃In with a hexagonal structure and their orientation relationship with respect to the MgO matrix is: (0001)Mg₃In//(111)Mgo and [1120]_Mg3In// [l10]MgO.     

Synthesis of monodisperse In2O3 nanoparticles and their d0 ferromagnetism

Monodisperse indium oxide (In₂O₃) nanoparticles (NPs) with the average diameter of 11 nm were prepared by a solvothermal method. The In₂O₃ NPs were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman and transmission electron microscopy. The intrinsic nature of ferromagnetism in In₂O₃ NPs has been established with the experimental observation of magnetic hysteresis loop. Photoluminescence and UV–visible studies were employed to evidence the presence of oxygen vacancies and revealed that the oxygen vacancies contribute to the ferromagnetism. The origin of ferromagnetism in In₂O₃ NPs may be due to exchange interactions among localized electron spin moments resulting from oxygen vacancies.     

Structure and NO2 gas sensing properties of SnO2-core/In2O3-shell nanobelts

SnO₂-core/In₂O₃-shell nanobelts were fabricated by a two-step process comprising thermal evaporation of Sn powders and sputter-deposition of In₂O₃. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the core of a typical core–shell nanobelt comprised a simple tetragonal-structured single crystal SnO₂ and that the shell comprised an amorphous In₂O₃. Multiple networked SnO₂-core/In₂O₃-shell nanobelt sensors showed the response of 5.35% at a NO₂ concentration of 10 ppm at 300 °C. This response value is more than three times larger than that of bare-SnO₂ nanobelt sensors at the same NO₂ concentration. The enhancement in the sensitivity of SnO₂ nanobelts to NO₂ gas by sheathing the nanobelts with In₂O₃ can be accounted for by the modulation of electron transport by the In₂O₃–In₂O₃ homojunction.     

In2O3 透明薄膜晶体管的制备及其电学性能的研究

采用磁控溅射方法在玻璃衬底上生长了In₂O₃晶体薄膜.该薄膜具有(111)晶面择优取向,晶粒尺寸达到33 nm.利用光刻工艺制作了以In₂O₃晶体薄膜为沟道层的底栅式薄膜晶体管.In₂O₃薄膜晶体管具有良好的栅压调制特性,场效应迁移率达到6.3 cm²/(V·s),开关电流比为3×10³,阈值电压为-0.9 V.结果表明,In相似文献   

Resistance switching properties of In2O3 nanocrystals memory device with organic and inorganic hybrid structure

A memory device with In₂O₃ nanocrystals embedded in a biphenyl-tertracarboxylic dianhydride-phenylen diamine (BPDA-PDA) polyimide layer on a ZnO layer was fabricated, and its electrical properties were evaluated. Then, the transmittance efficiency in the structure of the BPDA-PDA polyimide/In₂O₃ nanocrystals/ZnO/ITO/double polishing sapphire substrate was measured to be about 80% between 440 to 800 nm by ultraviolet-visible transmittance spectroscopy. A bipolar switching current bistability by difference resistance appeared in the sweep voltage rage from −7 to 7 V. It was considered that the bipolar behavior of current-voltage may originate from a resistance fluctuation because of the electron charging effect in In₂O₃ nanocrystals by voltage sweeping, Fowler–Nordheim tunneling, space-charge-limited current, and the migration of O²⁻ ions.     

Synthesis and characterization of indium oxide-hematite magnetic ceramic solid solution

Indium oxide-doped hematite xIn₂O_3*(1-x)??-Fe₂O₃ (molar concentration x = 0.1?C0.7) solid solutions were synthesized using mechanochemical activation by ball milling. XRD patterns yield the dependence of lattice parameters and grain size as function of milling time. After 12 h of milling, the completion of In^3?+? substitution of Fe^3?+? in hematite lattice occurs for x = 0.1. For x = 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7, the substitutions between In^3?+? and Fe^3?+? into hematite and respectively, In₂O₃ lattices occur simultaneously. The lattice parameters of ??-Fe₂O₃ (a and c) and In₂O₃ (a) vary with milling time. For x = 0.1, Mössbauer spectra were fitted with one, two, or three sextets versus milling time, corresponding to gradual substitution of In^3?+? for Fe^3?+? in hematite lattice. For x = 0.3, Mössbauer spectra after milling were fitted with three sextets and two quadrupole-split doublets, representing In^3?+? substitution of Fe^3?+? in hematite lattice and Fe^3?+? substitution of In^3?+? in two different sites of In₂O₃ lattice. For x = 0.5 and 0.7, Mössbauer spectra fitting required two sextets and one quadrupole-split doublet, representing coexistence of In^3?+? substitution of Fe^3?+? in hematite lattice and Fe^3?+? substitution of In^3?+? in indium oxide lattice. The recoilless fraction studied versus milling time for each molar concentration exhibited low values, consistent with the occurrence of nanoparticles in the system. SEM/EDS measurements revealed that the mechanochemical activation by ball milling produced xIn₂O_3*(1-x)??-Fe₂O₃ solid solution system with a wide range of particle size distribution, from nanometer to micrometer, but with a uniform distribution of Fe, In, and O elements.     

Response improvement for In2O3-TiO2 thick film gas sensors

In₂O₃ is introduced into TiO₂ by sol-gel method to improve the response/recovery rate and expand the operating temperature, when the In₂O₃-TiO₂ mixed system is exposed to H₂/O₂. The sensor is fabricated by thick film technology. Influence of In₂O₃ on the film phase composition, microstructure and sensing characteristics is discussed. Dynamic response properties show that the operating temperature of the mixed system is at 500-800 °C, which is about 600-800 °C for pure TiO₂. Response time of the sensor is about 200-260 ms (millisecond) while recovery time is in a narrow range of 60-280 ms at 600-800 °C. The promoting mechanism is suggested to arise from the introduction of In₂O₃ and grain size effect of the sensing film. Then In₂O₃-TiO₂ thick films are surface-modified by Pt using chloroplatinic acid. The promoting effect of Pt dispersed on the mixed system is also investigated.     

Influence of heat treatment process in In<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-MWCNTs as photoanode in DSSCs

Indium oxide-multi-walled carbon nanotubes (In₂O₃-MWCNTs) were prepared by sol-gel method for DSSCs. The synthesis of indium oxide (In₂O₃) was carried out by dissolving indium chloride (InCl₃) in a solvent of 2-methoxyethanol. Different annealing temperatures of 400, 450, 500, 550, and 600 °C were proposed in this study. The changes in the structural properties were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis. The XRD spectrum estimated the average crystallite sizes of 3 nm for each sample. AFM results indicated very rough surface area of the films where it increased linearly from 1.8 to 11 nm as the annealing temperature increases. The In₂O₃-MWCNTs-based DSSC exhibited good photovoltaic performance with power conversion efficiency (η), photocurrent density (J _sc ), open circuit voltage (V _oc ), and fill factor (FF) of 1.13 %, 5.5 mA/cm², 0.53 V, and 0.42, respectively. Even though the film annealed at 450 °C exhibited low τ _eff, it achieved the greatest D _eff of 29.67 cm² s^?1 which provides an efficient pathway for the photogenerated electrons with minimum electron recombination loss that increased the J _sc and V _oc in the DSSC. The obtained structural and electron transport analysis was proposed as a suitable benchmark for In₂O₃-MWCNTs-based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSCs) application. Hence, this study suggests that the optimum temperature for In₂O₃-MWCNTs is at annealing temperature of 450 °C prepared via sol-gel method.     

Investigation of gas sensor based on In2O3:Ga2O3 film

We have fabricated a LPG and butane sensor whose sensitive element is a nanosize In₂O₃:Ga₂O₃ (96:4 weight %) film covered with a thin palladium catalytic layer. Technology of deposition of these films on a glassceramic substrate by the method of rf magnetron sputtering was elaborated. The surfaces of fabricated films were studied with use of a scanning electron microscope and the thickness of films was measured. The sensitivity of sensors based on the glassceramic/In₂O₃:Ga₂O₃ (96:4 weight %)/Pd structure depending on the thickness and sizes of film grains was studied. We revealed technological regimes of sputtering providing fabrication of films with the best parameters.     

Morphological,photovoltaic, and electron transport properties of In2O3-based DSSC with different concentrations of MWCNTs

This study focuses on the influence of loading MWCNTs in In₂O₃-based DSSCs. In₂O₃-MWCNTs were prepared by sol-gel method via spin coating technique and annealed at 450 °C. The structural, morphology, and electrical properties of the photoanodes were characterized by means of XRD, AFM and FESEM, and J-V curve measurement and EIS properties, respectively. Incorporation of MWCNTs in In₂O₃ improved the J _sc and V _oc of the cell. However, excess loading of MWCNTs in In₂O₃ caused a serious aggregation of MWCNTs that increased the recombination rate. Thus, In₂O₃-MWCNTs with 0.3 % of MWCNTs achieved the highest PCE of 1.23 % with large surface area for efficient dye adsorption. Moreover, In₂O₃-MWCNTs_(0.3%) exhibited large D _eff about 25.7 × 10⁻³ cm² s⁻¹ with low recombination effect that increased the PCE. This study suggests an optimum MWCNT incorporation of 0.3 % in the photoanode by sol-gel synthesis method of developing In₂O₃-based nanocomposite.

     

PAC-studies of Sn-doped In2O3: electronic defect relaxation following the 111In(EC)111Cd-decay

Perturbed γ-angular correlation measurements as function of the measuring temperature and the Sn-content have been performed in Sn-doped cubic In₂O₃ using ¹¹¹In(EC)¹¹¹Cd and ^111m Cd probes. By comparing the spectra of both isotopes, electronic relaxation phenomena, socalled decay after-effects, following the electron capture radioactive decay of ¹¹¹In, were established. A time independent loss of the static quadrupole interaction amplitudes was found to be characteristic for the electronic relaxation, and its temperature and doping dependence were measured. The high statistical accuracy of the PAC-data allowed a separation between structural and dynamic effects and the observation of each lattice site’s behaviour. Relaxation rates were extracted from numerical simulations based on Blume’s theory and related to the predominant electron transport mechanisms in In₂O₃, especially, with rising Sn-content, to the transition to metallic conduction.     

Pressure‐induced structural transformations in In2‐xYx(MoO4)3 systems

In this work, we report results of high‐pressure Raman experiments (P < 8 GPa) on In_2‐xY_xMo₃O₁₂ for x = 0.0 and 0.5. A crystalline to crystalline structural phase transition and pressure‐induced amorphization (PIA) have been identified. The structural phase transition takes place at 1.5 and 1.0 GPa for In₂(MoO₄)₃ and In_1.5Y_0.5(MoO₄)₃, respectively, resulting in the change of structure from monoclinic P2₁/a to a more denser structure. The PIA started at 5 and 3.4 GPa for In₂Mo₃O₁₂ and In_1.5Y_0.5Mo₃O₁₂, respectively. The amorphization process takes place in two stages in the case of In_1.5Y_0.5Mo₃O₁₂ phase, while for In₂Mo₃O₁₂, it is not complete until the pressure is as high as 7 GPa. Our results also suggest that with increase of ionic size of the A³⁺ ions, the octahedral distortion increases and consequently larger local structural disorder is introduced in the A₂(MoO₄)₃ system, where A is a trivalent ion (In, Y³⁺, Sc³⁺, Fe³⁺, etc.). Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural, electrical, and optical properties of ZnInO alloy thin films

Indium zinc oxide (IZO) thin films with different percentages of In content (In/[In+Zn]) are synthesized on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering, and the structural, electrical and optical properties of IZO thin films deposited at different In₂O₃ target powers are investigated. IZO thin films grown at different In₂O₃ target sputtering powers show evident morphological variation and different grain sizes. As the In₂O₃ sputtering power rises, the grain size becomes larger and electrical mobility increases. The film grown with an In₂O₃ target power of 100 W displays the highest electrical mobility of 13.5 cm·V^-1·s^-1 and the lowest resistivity of 2.4 × 10^-3 Ω·cm. The average optical transmittance of the IZO thin film in the visible region reaches 80% and the band gap broadens with the increase of In₂O₃ target power, which is attributed to the increase in carrier concentration and is in accordance with Burstein-Moss shift theory.     

High temperature ferromagnetism of the vacuum-annealed (In1−xFex)2O3 powders

(In_1−xFe_x)₂O₃ (x = 0.02, 0.05, 0.2) powders were prepared by a solid state reaction method and a vacuum annealing process. A systematic study was done on the structural and magnetic properties of (In_1−xFe_x)₂O₃ powders as a function of Fe concentration and annealing temperature. The X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy results confirmed that there were not any Fe or Fe oxide secondary phases in vacuum-annealed (In_1−xFe_x)₂O₃ samples and the Fe element was incorporated into the indium oxide lattice by substituting the position of indium atoms. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that both Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions existed in the samples. Magnetic measurements indicated that all samples were ferromagnetic with the magnetic moment of 0.49-1.73 μ_B/Fe and the Curie temperature around 783 K. The appearance of ferromagnetism was attributed to the ferromagnetic coupling of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions via an electron trapped in a bridging oxygen vacancy.