Improvement of electrical properties of ITO thin films by melt-free ultra-short laser crystallization

Abstract We describe a novel solid state crystallisation method for optimising thin film transparent conductive oxide when deposited on flexible polymer substrates. The is based ultra-short non-thermal laser sintering of indium tin (ITO) films. In this study, we used commercial ITO films polyethylene terephthalate substrate with relatively low melting temperature compared glass. demonstrate the use scanning high pulse overlapping at fluences seven times less than threshold required melting/damage ITO. results confirm greater four enhancement in mobility charge carriers after and sheet resistance can be reduced up to 25%. There no reduction optical transparency observed treated samples. Surface morphology x-ray diffraction analyses improvement crystallite sizes by sintering, resulting 37% increase grain size due enhanced crystallization. Comparison experimental simulation delayed two model confirms that crystallization occurred about one-third