Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited by a chemical solution method from the mixed solutions of Indium (III) acetylacetonate and Tin (IV) iso-propoxide with 2-metoxyethanol as a solvent, and were fired at 500 °C for 30 minutes, then annealed in a temperature range of 400-600 °C for 30 minutes, under two sequential annealing processes; [Vacuum → N2 → H2/Ar] and [N2 → H2/Ar] and a reducing [H2/Ar] gas. The effects of the sequential annealing processes and atmosphere on the surface microstructural morphologies and resistivities of the ITO thin films were investigated. The ITO thin film, treated under a [Vacuum → N2 → H2/Ar] annealing process at 500 °C, showed a resistivity of approximately 3.3 × 10−3 Ωcm, whose surface grains were larger than those of the samples treated under a [N2 → H2/Ar] process and a [H2/Ar] atmosphere. Therefore it was found that the annealing procedures using several atmospheres have the principal influences over microstructural morphologies and resistivities of the ITO thin films. Key

Keywords: Indium tin oxide (ITO) films, Chemical solution deposition, Resistivity, Sequential annealing process, Surface morphology