Metal Insulator transition in tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films Quantum Correction to the electrical Conductivity

TL;DR

This study investigates the metal-insulator transition in tin-doped indium oxide thin films at low temperatures, attributing the transition to quantum interference effects and electron interactions, with implications for their use as transparent conductors.

Contribution

The paper provides experimental evidence of a metal-insulator transition in ITO thin films and explains it through quantum correction to conductivity, highlighting disorder effects and quantum interference.

Findings

Metal-insulator transition observed at 110 K.

Transition explained by quantum correction to conductivity.

Disorder and electron interactions influence transport properties.

Abstract

Tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films are being used extensively as transparent conductors in several applications. In the present communication, we report the electrical transport in DC magnetron sputtered ITO thin films in low temperatures (25-300 K). The low temperature Hall effect and resistivity measurements reveal that the ITO thin films are moderately dis-ordered (kfl~1) and degenerate semiconductor. The transport of charge carriers in these disordered ITO thin films takes place via the de-localized states. The disorder effects lead to the well- known metal-insulator transition; this transition is observed at 110 K in ITO thin films. The metal-insulator behaviour is explained by the quantum correction to the conductivity (QCC); this approach is based on the quantum-mechanical interference effects in the disordered systems. The insulating behaviour is attributed to the combined effect of the weak localization and the electron-electron interactions.