The crystallinity and mechanical properties of indium tin oxide coatings on polymer substrates
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)
We present the relationship between the microstructure and mechanical strength of indium tin oxide (ITO) on flexible substrates. With varying thickness (h{sub f}), ITO is deposited on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by dc magnetron sputtering. The microstructure of ITO is controlled by substrate surface conditions and sputtering parameters. The maximum substrate temperature during deposition is limited to 80 deg. C due to the low glass transition temperature (T{sub g}) of PET. The crystallinity and surface roughness (R{sub rms}) are analyzed by high resolution x-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and AFM. The crack resistance of ITO is evaluated by uniaxial tension test. The experimental results reveal that, at a fixed h{sub f}, the degree and quality of crystallinity of ITO are highly improved by increasing sputtering power and the substrate temperature. As the crystallinity is improved, the ratio of preferred growth orientations of (222) to (400) is increased and the degree of peak shifts to lower 2{theta} is decreased. They indicate that the crystallinity is improved as the lattice damage is reduced and film density is increased. The tension test results confirm that, up to a certain h{sub f}, the strength of ITO can be significantly enhanced by improving the microstructures.
- OSTI ID:
- 21538098
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 109; ISSN JAPIAU; ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY
CHALCOGENIDES
COATINGS
COHERENT SCATTERING
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DEPOSITION
DIFFRACTION
DIMENSIONS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
ELECTRON TUBES
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
ESTERS
GLASS
INDIUM COMPOUNDS
INDIUM OXIDES
MAGNETRONS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MICROSCOPY
MICROSTRUCTURE
MICROWAVE EQUIPMENT
MICROWAVE TUBES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
POLYESTERS
POLYMERS
ROUGHNESS
SCATTERING
SPUTTERING
SUBSTRATES
SURFACE COATING
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SURFACES
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
THICKNESS
TIN COMPOUNDS
TIN OXIDES
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
X-RAY DIFFRACTION