Theeffectofannealingconditiononsputteredindiumtinoxide(ITO)filmsonquartzwiththethicknessof200nmischaracterizedtoshowenhancedopticaltransparencyandoptimizedelectricalcontactresistivity.Theas-depositedgrownITOfilmexhibitsonly65%and80%transmittanceat532and632.8nm,respectively.Afterannealingat475°Cfor15min,theITOfilmisrefinedtoshowimprovedtransmittanceatshorterwavelengthregion.Thetransmittancesof88.1%at532nmand90.4%at632.8nmcanbeobtained.The325-nmtransmittanceofthepost-annealedITOfilmisgreatlyincreasedfrom12.7%to41.9%.Optimizedelectricalpropertycanbeobtainedwhenannealingbelow450°C,leadingtoaminimumsheetresistanceof26Ω/square.SuchanITOfilmwithenhancedultraviolet(UV)transmittancehasbecomeanalternativecandidateforapplicationsincurrentUVphotonicdevices.Themorphologyandconductanceoftheas-depositedandannealedITOfilmsaredeterminedbyusinganatomicforcemicroscopy(AFM),showingagreatchangeontheuniformitydistributionwithfiniteimprovementonthesurfaceconductanceoftheITOfilmafterannealing.
