Growth characteristics and properties of indium oxide and indium-doped zinc oxide by atomic layer deposition

• Indium oxide and In-doped ZnO (IZO) were deposited using thermal ALD with DMLDMIn.
• In doped ZnO (IZO) was deposited using thermal ALD using supercycle method.
• Properties of IZO were investigated as a function of doping concentration.
• The lowest resistivity can be obtained at the maximum In solubility of ZnO.

We investigated the growth of indium oxide (In2O3) and indium-doped zinc oxide (In-doped ZnO, IZO) thin films synthesized using thermal atomic layer deposition with dimethylamino-dimethylindium as the precursor, while varying the In2O3/ZnO ratio. The IZO films were deposited using the supercycle method, and the doping concentration of these films was controlled by changing the In2O3/ZnO cycle ratio. The microstructural properties and chemical compositions of the films were analyzed using X-ray diffraction analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Further, the electrical properties of the IZO films, including their carrier concentration, mobility, and resistivity, were investigated through Hall measurements. The lowest resistivity (6.15 × 10− 2 Ω·cm) was exhibited by the IZO film. The highest carrier concentration and mobility exhibited by the IZO films grown at 300 °C were 4.4 × 1018 cm− 3 and 28.7 cm2/V·s, respectively.