In this study, ITO thin films were fabricated on a glass substrate at different thicknesses without introducing oxygen using RF sputtering system. The structural, electrical, and optical properties were evaluated at various thicknesses ranging from 50 to 300 mm. As the thickness of deposited ITO thin film become thicker from 50 to 100 mm, carrier concentration, mobility, and band gap energy also increased while the resistivity and transmittance decreased in the visible light region. When the film thickness increased from 100 to 300 mm, the carrier concentration, mobility, and band gap energy decreased while the resistivity and transmittance increased. The optimum electrical properties were obtained for the ITO film 100 nm. After optimizing the thickness, the ITO thin films were post-annealed at different temperatures ranging from 100 to 300℃. As the annealing temperature increased, the ITO crystal phase became clearer and the grain size also increased. In particular, the ITO thin film annealed at 300℃ indicated high carrier concentration (4.32 × 1021 cm-3), mobility (9.01 cm2/V·s) and low resistivity (6.22 × 10-4 Ω·cm). This means that the optimal post-annealing temperature is 300℃ and this ITO thin film is suitable for use in solar cells and display application.
