A time-resolved reflectivity study of the amorphous-to-crystalline transformation kinetics in dc-magnetron sputtered indium tin oxide

Researchers used time-resolved reflectivity to monitor crystallization of amorphous tin-doped indium-oxide which had been deposited to a thickness of 110 nm by dc-magnetron sputtering. Results indicate that the amorphous to crystalline transformation process includes rapid nucleation in columns which are limited by voids through the film. Lateral seeding allows the grains to grow radially. The transformation process has an activation energy of around 0.67 eV.