# title
Effect of Oxygen Flow Rate on Electrical and Optical Properties of ATO Thin Films Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering

# abstract
<jats:p>Transparent conducting antimony doped tin oxide (ATO) films were sputtered on quartz glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering at an oxygen flow rate ranging from 0 to 15 sccm. The films were prepared at room temperature and annealed for 15 min in air atmospheres at a temperature of 450 C. The effect of oxygen flow rate has been investigated by comparing eletrical and optical properties of ATO films. The results suggest that, oxygen flow rate has a great impact on Sb<jats:sup>5+</jats:sup>/Sb<jats:sup>3+</jats:sup> ratio and lattice structure integrity, which finally affects the transmittance and electrical resistivity. With the increase of oxygen flow rate, the grain size is enlarged, which leads to a higher average optical transmittance. On the other hand, with oxygen flow rate increasing, the Sb<jats:sup>5+</jats:sup>/Sb<jats:sup>3+</jats:sup> ratio first increases and then decreases sharply when the oxygen flow rate exceeds 5 sccm. The increase of Sb<jats:sup>5+</jats:sup>/Sb<jats:sup>3+</jats:sup> ratio results in the increase of carrier concentration and finally contributes to a decrease of electrical resistivity. The optimal resistivity is 8.910<jats:sup>-2</jats:sup> cm and the average transmittance is about 95% at an oxygen flow rate of 5 sccm.</jats:p>

# authorList[]
Yang, P., Jiang, L. R., Wu, J. Y., Chen, F., Galaviz-Prez, J. A., Shen, Q., Schoenung, J. M., & Zhang, L. M.