The atomic structure and composition of non-interfacial ITO and ITO-Si interfaces were studied with Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The films were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on mono-crystalline p-type (100) Si wafers. Both as deposited and heat treated films consisted of crystalline ITO. The ITO/Si interface showed a more complicated composition. A thin layer of SiOx was found at the ITO/Si interface together with In and Sn nanoclusters, as well as highly oxygen deficient regions, as observed by XPS. High energy electron exposure of this area crystallized the In nanoclusters and at the same time increased the SiOx interface layer thickness.

The interface between indium tin oxide and p-type silicon is studied by in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This is done by performing XPS without breaking vacuum after deposition of ultrathin layers in sequences. Elemental tin and indium are shown to be present at the interface, both after 2 and 10 s of deposition. In addition, the silicon oxide layer at the interface is shown to be composed of mainly silicon suboxides rather than silicon dioxide.

We have investigated the crystallization of amorphous equiatomic NiTi thin films sandwiched between two protective silicon nitride barrier films using optical, atomic force, and transmission electron microscopies. Crystallite nucleation occurs homogeneously inside the NiTi films because small composition shifts at the interfaces between NiTi and surrounding layers suppress heterogeneous nucleation at these interfaces. The crystallite growth rate is independent of film thickness for films thicker than 600 nm. Below 600 nm, the growth rate decreases rapidly and has an apparent activation energy that increases with decreasing film thickness. We suggest that diffusion of hydrogen from the film interfaces may be responsible for this unusual behavior.

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