Optical and electrical investigations of indium oxide thin films prepared by thermal oxidation of indium thin films

Abstract

Indium oxide thin films have been prepared by thermal oxidation of vacuum‐deposited indium thin films in air in an open furnace at about 600 K. These indium oxide thin films prepared by thermal oxidation have been examined for optical transparency by measuring their optical absorbance as a function of wavelength. From the optical absorption data, optical band gap and the nature of the forbidden energy gap in the indium oxide thin films have been determined. Electrical conductivity measurements have also been carried out on the above oxide films as a function of temperature during heating and cooling cycles in vacuum. It is found that after the first heating, electrical conductivity increases to a significant extent due to removal of point defect clusters due to annealing which contribute to both carrier generation and scattering. From the thermoelectric power measurements carried out, it has been concluded that electrons are the majority carriers in these indium oxide thin films.