Electronic defects in In2O3 and In2O3:Mg thin films on r‐plane sapphire

The electrical and structural properties of undoped and Mg-doped pulsed-laser-deposited In2O3 thin films grown on r-plane sapphire were investigated by means of Hall-effect, X-ray diffraction, and space-charge spectroscopic methods, such as thermal admittance spectroscopy and deep-level transient spectroscopy. Undoped thin films are preferentially -oriented but X-ray diffraction also revealed -orientation. The incorporation of Mg promotes growth along the direction. Further, the free electron concentration is reduced from to values below due to incorporation of MgO. We found that a deep-level defect with a thermal activation energy of and an apparent capture cross-section of is exclusively incorporated in Mg-doped thin films.