Properties of Ce-doped ITO films deposited on polymer substrate by DC magnetron sputtering

Ce-doped indium tin oxide (ITO:Ce) films were deposited on flexible polyimide substrates by DC magnetron sputtering using ITO targets containing various CeO2 contents (CeO2 : 0, 0.5, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0 wt.%) at room temperature and post-annealed at 200 °C. The crystallinity of the ITO films decreased with increasing Ce content, and it led to a decrease in surface roughness. In addition, a relatively small change in resistance in dynamic stress mode was obtained for ITO:Ce films even after the annealing at high temperature (200 °C). The minimum resistivity of the amorphous ITO:Ce films was 3.96 × 10− 4 Ωcm, which was deposited using a 3.0 wt.% CeO2 doped ITO target. The amorphous ITO:Ce films not only have comparable electrical properties to the polycrystalline films but also have a crystallization temperature > 200 °C. In addition, the amorphous ITO:Ce film showed stable mechanical properties in the bended state.