Optical characterization of indium-tin-oxynitride fabricated by RF-sputtering

Indium-tin-oxynitride (ITON) and indium-tin-oxide (ITO) thin films have been fabricated by r.f. sputtering from an indium-tin-oxide target in a plasma containing N-2 and Ar gases, respectively. The properties of films grown at two different plasma pressures were examined just after deposition and after annealing. Although the electrical properties of these films were improved after annealing, the properties of the ITON films were still inferior to those of the ITO films. The resistivity of the ITON films after annealing was reduced by a factor of two for the film at the higher plasma pressure, but the carrier concentration was almost the same. The ITON films fabricated at low pressure exhibited a significant blue shift in transmittance, which was not related to the increase carrier concentration after annealing. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.