INFLUENCE OF TRANSVERSE CURRENT DURING IN-O VAPOR-DEPOSITION

The effect of electrical current flow parallel to the surface of growi ng In-O thin films was investigated. The films were produced by therma l vapor deposition of In-O powder in a vacuum of 1.3 mPa onto glass su bstrates at room temperature. Seven 15 x 1.5 mm(2) samples were deposi ted on each substrate through a mask, and silver paint electrodes were applied to the end of each sample. A potential difference of 0 to 110 V d.c. was applied to the central sample during deposition, while the remaining six films had no voltage applied. The current flowing durin g the deposition was monitored using a shunt. X-ray diffraction studie s showed that all films were amorphous. It was observed that for the f ilm grown with an applied voltage of 110 V, the radius of the first co ordination sphere is 3% shorter than for the films grown without volta ge. Optical microscopy and SEM showed an increased proclivity for a ne t-like microstructure to form with increasing applied voltage, with a typical cell dimension of 10 mu m. The electrical conductivity of the In-O films grew rapidly with the applied voltage, reaching an improvem ent factor of 7 in comparison with films deposited without a transvers e current.