Effect of hydrogen plasma on the properties of indium--tin oxide films

The effect of hydrogen plasma exposure on the properties of transparent conducting indium--tin oxide films has been studied. The exposure reduces the film surface to elemental indium. The thickness of the reduced layer increases with increasing exposure and finally saturates to a thickness of about 100 nm. The reduced surface is rough and decreases the visible transmittance of these films drastically due to increased absorptance and reflectance. The reduced metal layer decreases the sheet resistance of the films. Annealing of the plasma-exposed film in oxygen recovers the visible transmittance except in the case of the severely damaged films