Mn-implanted, polycrystalline indium tin oxide and indium oxide films

Polycrystalline conducting, ca. 250 nm thick indium tin oxide (ITO) and indium oxide (IO) films grown on SiO2/Si substrates using reactive magnetron sputtering, have been implanted with 1 and 5 at.% of Mn, followed by annealing in nitrogen or in vacuum. The effect of the post-growth treatment on the structural, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties has been studied. The roughness of implanted films ranges between 3 and 15 nm and XRD measurements revealed a polycrystalline structure. A positive MR has been observed for Mn-implanted and post-annealed ITO and IO films. It has been interpreted by considering s–d exchange. Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to prove the existence of midgap electronic states in the Mn-implanted ITO and IO films reducing the transmittance below 80%.