Characterization of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films prepared by a sol-gel spin coating process

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were prepared by a sol-gel spin coating method, fired, and then annealed in the temperature range of 450-600°. The XRD patterns of the thin films indicated the main peak of the (2 2 2) plane and showed a higher degree of crystallinity with an increase in the annealing temperature. Upon annealing the films at 500 and 600°, two binding energy levels of Sn⁴⁺ ion of 486.9 eV and 486.6 eV, respectively, were measured in the XPS spectra. The ITO film that was annealed at 600° contained two oxidation states of Sn, Sn²⁺ and Sn⁴⁺, and it had a higher sheet resistance based on a rather low doping concentration of Sn⁴⁺. The film that was annealed at 500° and subsequently treated with 0.1 N HCl solution for 40 s showed a sheet resistance of 225 Ω/square. The surface treatment by the acidic solution diminished the RMS (root mean square) roughness value and the residual carbon content (XPS peak intensity of carbon) of the ITO films. It seems that the acid-cleaning of the ITO thin films led to a decrease of the surface roughness and sheet resistance.