Effects of second-phase particles and elemental distributions of ITO targets on the properties of deposited ITO films

Microstructure, grain orientation, and properties of ITO ceramics sintered with various heating rates

“…A number of manufacturing processes have been focused on studying the intrinsic performances of ITO targets, such as the sintering behavior and densification, the phase compositions and the solubility of tin in indium oxide, the ITO targets with various SnO 2 content and grain size, etc. Also, Mei et al have carried out a series of studies on the microstructure of ITO targets and its effects on the properties of ITO films . They considered that high density and uniform structure are essential to prepare the ITO films of high quality.…”

“…As we all known, the most advanced and main prepared method of ITO targets is atmosphere sintering method, using SnO 2 ‐doped In 2 O 3 powders or In 2 O 3 ‐SnO 2 mixed powders . After sintering at above 1500°C in pure oxygen, these oxides become ITO material after a series of physicochemical reaction .…”

Effects of particle size and dispersion methods of In2O3‐SnO2 mixed powders on the sintering properties of indium tin oxide ceramics

“…Many aspects of ITO ceramics as an important raw materials of ITO films are studied as well in the last decades, such as the phase compositions as a function of sintering temperature, the solid‐state sintering behavior, the densification of fast sintering, the sintering behavior with various SnO 2 content and particle size, the effects of grain size on ITO ceramics properties, the effects of second‐phase particles and elemental distributions of ITO ceramics on the properties of ITO films, etc. ITO ceramics should possess high density (99+% of TD) and high uniformity to maximize the useful life of ITO ceramics and high electrical conductivity, and their use in sputtering system should provide a formation of crystalline or amorphous electrically conductive transparent films without structural defects . However, in reality, the systematically theoretical research on the sintering properties of In 2 O 3 ‐SnO 2 mixed powders with varying particle size and dispersed by different mechanical ball‐mill methods has not resulted in conclusive findings.…”

“…Due to their high electrical conductivity and high transparency to visible light, ITO films have widely used as transparent electrodes in the field of various optoelectronic devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCD), flat panel displays (FPD), organic light-emitting diodes (OLED), and some others, such as thin-film solar cells, touch panels, electronic paper displays, antistatic conductive films, and automotive applications. [4][5][6][7] Many aspects of ITO ceramics as an important raw materials of ITO films are studied as well in the last decades, such as the phase compositions as a function of sintering temperature, 8 the solid-state sintering behavior, 9 the densification of fast sintering, 10 the sintering behavior with various SnO 2 content and particle size, 11,12 the effects of grain size on ITO ceramics properties, 13 the effects of second-phase particles and elemental distributions of ITO ceramics on the properties of ITO films, 14 etc. ITO ceramics should possess high density (99+% of TD) and high uniformity to maximize the useful life of ITO ceramics and high electrical conductivity, and their use in sputtering system should provide a formation of crystalline or amorphous electrically conductive transparent films without structural defects.…”

“…ITO ceramics should possess high density (99+% of TD) and high uniformity to maximize the useful life of ITO ceramics and high electrical conductivity, and their use in sputtering system should provide a formation of crystalline or amorphous electrically conductive transparent films without structural defects. 14 However, in reality, the systematically theoretical research on the sintering properties of In 2 O 3 -SnO 2 mixed powders with varying particle size and dispersed by different mechanical ball-mill methods has not resulted in conclusive findings.…”