Plasma exposure inducing crystallization of indium oxide film with improved electrical and mechanical properties at room temperature

A novel plasma exposure technique has been introduced into conventional magnetron sputtering process to enhance the crystallization of indium oxide (In₂O₃) films at room temperature. The effect of plasma exposure technique with different pulsed DC voltages on the electrical and mechanical properties of In₂O₃ films was investigated. It is observed that film crystallization can be significantly enhanced when the pulsed DC voltage (|V _p|) is higher than |-500 V| (|V _p| > |-500 V|). By applying the plasma exposure process, In₂O ₃ films prepared at room temperature with thickness of 135 nm shows low resistivity of 4.11 × 10^-4 Ω cm, mobility of 42.1 cm²/Vs, and transmittance over 80 % in the visible range. Compared with the In₂O₃ films without plasma exposure process, the In₂O₃ films with plasma exposure show better crystallization and remarkably higher nanohardness. The plasma exposure technique is a useful candidate technique for enhancing film crystallization at low temperature.