Microstructure of indium tin oxide films deposited on porous silicon by rf-sputtering

Transparent conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) films are deposited by rf-sputtering at a constant power of 400 W in Ar atmosphere on the porous silicon (PS) layers anodized on p-type (100) Si wafers. At three successive stages of deposition for 10, 20 and 30 min, respectively, the growth of ITO on PS is thoroughly investigated by atomic force microscopic (AFM), SEM and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The features of growth on other substrates like single crystal p-type (100) silicon, quartz and glass are also taken into consideration. The influence of ITO microstructure on the PS interface is correlated with the electrical and luminescent behavior of the resulting heterojunction diode structure.