Abstract
The optical and electrical characteristics of an ITO film were analyzed by depositing it on a glass substrate using an electron beam evaporator (EBE) for application in thin-film solar cells. The temperature of the substrate during the deposition was adjusted from room temperature to 400 degrees C. The optical properties of the ITO film were analyzed with a UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer. A four point probe system was used to measure the electrical characteristics. The surface morphology was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). A high-resolution x-ray diffractometer (HR-XRD) was used to analyze the phases of the ITO film at various substrate temperatures. From the results, ITO whiskers grew at 200 degrees C. However, ITO whisker growth changed to ITO nanowire growth above 300 degrees C for the substrate temperature. When the growth changed from whiskers to wires, the morphology of the film and the electrical and optical properties also changed. The ITO nanowires have good transmittance for application in thin-film solar cells above a 300 degrees C substrate temperature.