Effect of Heat Treatment on the Electrical Properties of Thin Yttrium-Doped In2O3 Films

Thin indium oxide films and In–Y–O films containing 0.7 to 3.6 at % Y have been grown by ionbeam sputtering of an indium target and a composite (indium + weighed amounts of yttrium) target in a mixture of argon and oxygen. The thin indium oxide films have a cubic crystal structure (sp. gr. Ia $$\bar 3$$ ). The incorporation of yttrium atoms into indium oxide leads to the formation of an amorphous structure in the as-grown films and an increase in their room-temperature electrical resistance by several orders of magnitude. Lowtemperature electrical resistance data indicate a change in conduction mechanism. High-temperature heat treatment of the thin In–Y–O films leads to the crystallization of their amorphous structure and an increase in their electrical resistance.