Preparation and characterization of In2O3 films with (111) preferred orientation

• In2O3 films were prepared through a thermal deposition.
• Highly (111)-orientated In2O3 films were obtained on glass substrates.
• The resistivity of the In2O3 films can be as low as 4 × 10−4 ohm-cm.
• The resistivity of the In2O3 films was mainly contributed from the surface scattering of the conductive electrons.

In this study, In2O3 films were prepared by three methods and resulted in three different film structures. We firstly produced In2O3 polycrystal films by the evaporation of In source under oxygen ambient. In the second attempt, In2O3(111) films were fabricated by oxidation of In films. The surface scattering contributed to the resistivity of the oxidized In film and resulted a poor conductivity. As the third approach, a combination of the first and the second way, we prepared an ultrathin In film, oxidized it, and made it served as a seeding layer in the evaporation of In source under oxygen ambient. Due to the specific fabrication, we obtained the In2O3(111) films, in which a better conductivity and a smooth surface were observed in the In2O3(111) film through the third approach.