Synthesis and materials properties of transparent conducting In2O3 films prepared by sol–gel-spin coating technique

Transparent conducting indium oxide (In2O3) thin films have been prepared on glass substrates by the simple sol–gel-spin coating technique. These films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, resistivity and Hall effect measurements, optical transmission, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy for their structural, electrical, optical and morphological properties. The influence of spin parameters, number of coating, process temperature on the quality of In2O3 films are studied. In the operating range of deposition, 400–475 °C, all the films showed predominant (2 2 2) orientation. Films deposited at optimum process conditions exhibited a resistivity of 2×10−2 Ω cm along with the average transmittance of about 80% in the visible spectral range (400–700 nm).