Patent ID: 6425990
Filing Date: 2002-07-30
Classification: C23C

Abstract:
In a method for fabricating a transparent conductive ITO film which has In and O as basic component elements and Sn added as a donor in an atmosphere comprising a mixture of rare gas and oxygen gas by a sputtering process using a mixture of oxides of In and Sn as a target, said method comprising:a first step of forming by sputtering a transparent conductive ITO film on a substrate in an atmosphere with a partial pressure of oxygen set by introducing oxygen gas into the rare gas, and a second step of interrupting said forming in said first step and performing discharge in an atmosphere where a partial pressure of oxygen is 1Ã—10âˆ’3 Torr or more, which is higher than the partial pressure of oxygen in said first step, wherein a stacking rate of oxygen on a target surface becomes higher than that of a release of oxygen on the target surface to compensate for the oxygen deficiency in said target.