Effect of thickness on optoelectrical properties of Nb-doped indium tin oxide thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

Niobium-doped indium tin oxide （ITO:Nb） thin films are prepared on glass substrates with various film thicknesses by radio frequency （RF） magnetron sputtering from one piece of ceramic target material. The effects of thickness （60-360 nm） on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ITO: Nb films are investigated by means of X-ray diffraction （XRD）, ultraviolet （UV）-visible spectroscopy, and electrical measurements. XRD patterns show the highly oriented （400） direction. The lowest resistivity of the films without any heat treatment is 3.1×10^-4 Ω·cm^-1, and the resistivity decreases with the increase of substrate temperature. The highest Hall mobility and carrier concentration are 17.6 N·S and 1.36×10²¹ cm^-3, respectively. Band gap energy of the films depends on substrate temperature, which varies from 3.48 eV to 3.62 eV.