Abstract:
Infrared transparent conductive materials that are capable of simultaneously achieving high infrared transmittance and superior electrical performance are of significant interest for advanced optoelectronic applications. This study systematically investigates the growth kinetics, microstructural evolution, and optoelectronic properties of hydrogenated indium oxide (InO
x:H ) thin films deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD), focusing on optimizing carrier mobility and concentration to balance electrical conductivity and infrared transparency. By modulating deposition parameters, it is demonstrated that substrate temperature critically governs the film growth rate, crystallinity, and carrier dynamics. At a low deposition temperature of 100 °C, incomplete precursor reactions result in a sluggish growth rate (0.06 nm/cycle) and amorphous structures. These films exhibit a carrier mobility of 30.18 cm
2/(V·s) and an infrared transmittance of 80% at 4 μm wavelength, which can be attributed to reduced free carrier absorption due to low carrier concentration (3.2×10
20 cm
−3). Elevating the deposition temperature stabilizes the growth rate at approximately 0.1 nm/cycle and triggers a phase transition from amorphous to crystalline states. Consequently, carrier mobility surges to 64.05 cm
2/(V·s), while carrier concentration decreases to 1.8×10
20 cm
−3, maintaining a high transmittance of 75% at 4 μm. Notably, the pulse time ratio of InCp/(O
2+H
2O) and InCp duration exhibit negligible influence on optical-electrical performance, suggesting that thermal energy dominates crystallinity and defect suppression. Further increasing deposition cycles enhances carrier mobility beyond 80 cm
2/(V·s) but drastically degrades optical performance (transmittance drops to 39.5% at 4 μm), emphasizing the inherent trade-off between electrical and infrared-transparent properties. These findings highlight the pivotal role of temperature-dependent crystallinity in tailoring carrier transport and infrared absorption, providing a pathway to engineer the infrared transparent conductive materials for infrared windows, transparent electrodes, and multispectral stealth technologies, thereby advancing the development of dual-functional materials for next-generation infrared optoelectronics.