Characteristics of indium oxide plasma filters deposited by atmospheric pressure CVD
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States)
- Lockheed Martin Corp., Schenectady, NY (United States)
Thin films of undoped and tin-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} are being investigated for use as plasma filters in spectral control applications for thermal photovoltaic cells. These films are required to exhibit high reflectance at wavelengths longer than the plasma wavelength {lambda}{sub p}, high transmittance at wavelengths shorter than {lambda}{sub p} and low absorption throughout the spectrum. Both types of films were grown via atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) on Si (100) and fused silica substrates using trimethylindium (TMI), tetraethyltin (TET), and oxygen as the precursors. Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to measure the filter transmittance and reflectance between 1.8--20 {micro}m. Nominal conditions used during the growth of undoped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} were a substrate temperature of 450 C and partial pressures of 1.4 {times} 10{sup {minus}4} atm. and 1 {times} 10{sup {minus}3} atm. for TMI and O{sub 2} respectively. The O{sub 2}/TMI partial pressure ratio and substrate temperature were systematically varied to control the filter characteristics. The plasma wavelength {lambda}{sub p} was found to be a sensitive function of these parameters. Post-growth annealing of the films was done in inert as well as air ambient at elevated temperatures, but was found to have no beneficial effect. Tin-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} was grown under similar conditions as above, with a typical TET partial pressure of 4 {times} 10{sup {minus}6} atm. Here also, the material properties and consequently the optical response were found to be strongly dependent on growth conditions such as O{sub 2} and TET partial pressures. Both undoped and tin-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} grown on fused silica exhibited enhanced transmittance due to the close matching of refractive indices of In{sub 2}O{sub 3} and silica. X-ray diffractometer measurements indicated that all these films were polycrystalline and highly textured towards the (111) direction. The best undoped and tin-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} films had a {lambda}{sub p} around 2.7 {micro}m, peak reflectance greater than 75% and residual absorption below 20%. These results indicate the promise of undoped and tin-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} as a material for plasma filters.
- Research Organization:
- Knolls Atomic Power Lab. (KAPL), Niskayuna, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC12-76SN00052
- OSTI ID:
- 350942
- Report Number(s):
- KAPL-P-000009; K-95082; CONF-9507247-; ON: DE99002689; TRN: AHC29921%%128
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. NREL conference on thermophotovoltaic generation of electricity, Colorado Springs, CO (United States), Jul 1995; Other Information: PBD: Jul 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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