Indium tin oxide (ITO) is the most common transparent conductive oxide used with high conductivity and optical transparency and it can be deposited at relatively low temperatures meaning is can be applied to various different substrates, the most common of which being glass.
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ITO targets are typically composed of a mix of In2O3 and SnO2, with 90:10 ratio being the most common as it has a good compromise of transparency and conductivity. ITO targets are light yellow to pale green color in target form but transparent in thin film form.
In commercial product applications, ITO is commonly used in touch screens, displays, solar cells, and antireflection coatings. ITO thin films are highly transparent and can be used to reduce reflections from reflective surfaces, such as displays. Additionally, the thin film’s electrical conductivity makes it ideal for use in touch screens, as it can be used to detect the location of a user’s finger or stylus on the surface. ITO thin films are also used to make transparent conducting electrodes for LEDs and solar cells, as they are able to efficiently capture and transfer current without interfering with the light entering the cell.
ITO thin films generally have a high transparency, with a visible light transmission of around 80-90%. The sheet resistance of ITO thin films is typically between 10-20 ohms/square for 140-180 nm, and this value decreases as the film thickness increases and vice versa. Additionally, the optical and electrical properties of ITO thin films can be tailored by varying the composition of the sputtering target. For example, an In-SnO2 target will generally produce a thin film with higher transparency and lower sheet resistance compared to an In2O3-SnO2 target.
ITO thin films can be deposited by sputtering using a range of deposition parameters. Generally, the sputtering pressure is set between 0.1-1 mTorr, and the sputtering power is set between 0.5-2 kW. The deposition temperature is typically kept between room temperature and 300°C, and the deposition rate is typically around 0.5-2 nm/s.
ITO thin films can also be deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The deposition parameters for PLD with an oxygen pressure of 5-50 mTorr if films are oxygen deficient then they can appear grey. ITO can be deposited from room temperature to 400C which means it can be deposited on plastics as well as glass and other substrates. Laser energy density is typically 0.75-1.5 J.cm-2
Al: ZnO
The full name of ITO is indium tin oxide, a composition of indium, tin, and oxygen with different proportions. The substance of ITO and ITO sputtering target is the same, the latter of which is actually a black-gray ceramic semiconductor formed by mixing indium oxide and tin oxide powder in a certain ratio.
At present, there are mainly four molding methods for preparing the ITO target, and each of them has its advantage in a specific application.
Vacuum hot pressing densifies the ITO powder by utilizing thermal energy and mechanical energy, and it can produce a high-density ITO ceramic target with a density of 91% to 96%. This method can easily obtain an ITO target that is close to the expected density and whose porosity is close to zero. However, limited by the equipment and the mold size, vacuum hot pressing is less advantageous in preparing a large-sized sputtering target.
Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) prepares ITO sputtering target by sintering under pressure or pressing at high temperatures. Similarly with vacuum hot pressing, HIP can obtain a product with high density (almost a theoretical density) and excellent physical and mechanical properties in the heated and pressurized state. But it is also limited by the pressure of the equipment and the size of the cylinder.
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Room temperature sintering prepares a high-density target performed by slurry casting or pre-pressing first and then sinters it under a certain atmosphere and temperature to obtain the ITO target. Its biggest advantage over others is the ability to produce large-size sputtering targets. But the purity of the target made by this method is lower, compared to other sintering methods.
Cold isostatic pressing (CIP) uses rubber or plastic as a mold covering material at a normal temperature and uses a liquid as a pressure medium to transfer ultra-high pressure. CIP can also prepare ITO sputtering targets of a larger size. And it is cheap, which is suitable for mass production. But CIP requires the materials to be sintered at a high temperature of ~ °C in a 0.1~0.9 MPa pure oxygen environment, which has a higher risk.
These three terms are co-related. In short, ITO conductive glass is made by coating a layer of ITO film on a piece of ultra-thin glass by sputtering or evaporation. Here, the ITO target is the source that provides indium tin oxide atoms; ITO film is obtained when these indium tin oxide atoms are deposited on the substrate (the glass), and the glass coated with ITO film is called ITO conductive glass.
ITO sputtering target, along with its derivatives such as ITO film and ITO glass, has many applications in various industries. ITO target is often used to make transparent conductive coatings for displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCD), flat panel displays, plasma displays, and touch panels. ITO thin film is used in organic light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and antistatic coatings. Apart from the electronics industry, ITO target is also used for various optical coatings, most notably infrared-reflecting coatings and sodium vapor lamp glasses for automotive.
The future of the ITO target is prosperous, but there are still difficulties that we need to overcome. The developing trend of ITO target can be concluded into four points:
1) large size,
2) low resistivity,
3) high density and
4) high utilization.
Point 4 has been one of the hotspots and difficulties in this field. At present, the planar target still dominates the sputter coating industry due to its multiple advantages such as simple structure, strong versatility, and good uniformity. However, the utilization rate of the planar target is low. Recently, sputtering target manufacturers are actively researching and developing a new type of sputtering target (such as rotatory target) to achieve high utilization.
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