Optical and electrical properties of indium tin oxide thin films sputter-deposited in working gas containing hydrogen without heat treatments

Abstract Polycrystalline thin films of indium tin oxide sputter-deposited in the working gas containing hydrogen of 0.3–1.5% exhibited transmittance of ≥ 80% for visible lights and blue-shift of ≥ 0.1 eV in the optical absorption energy. The film deposited in the gas containing hydrogen of 1% demonstrated almost flat temperature-dependent resistivity and the lowest resistivity of ≈ 1.5 × 10 − 4  Ω cm at room temperature. The carrier density showed an inverse V-shaped behavior with the maximum at the hydrogen concentration of 1%. The mobility stayed at almost constant below the hydrogen concentration of 1% and dropped rather rapidly above 1%.