We have investigated the effect of ambient gases on the structural, electrical, and optical characteristics of IZO thin films intended for use as anode contacts in the organic light emitting diodes (OLED) devices. These IZO thin films were deposited on the PES film by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering under different ambient gases (Ar, Ar + O2, and Ar + H2) at room temperature. In order to investigate the influences of the ambient gases, the flow rate of oxygen and hydrogen in argon has been changed from 0.1 sccm to 0.5 sccm, respectively. All the IZO thin film has an (222) preferential orientation regardless of ambient gases. The electrical resistivity of the IZO film increased with increasing O2 flow rate, whereas the electrical resistivity decreased sharply under an Ar + H2 atmosphere and was nearly similar regardless of the H2 flow rate. The change of electrical resistivity with changes in the ambient gas composition was mainly interpreted in terms of the charge carrier concentration rather than the charge carrier mobility. All the films showed the average transmittance over 85% in the visible range. The OLED device was fabricated with different IZO substrates made with the configuration of IZO/α-NPD/DPVB/ Alq3/LiF/Al in order to elucidate the performance of the IZO substrate. The current density and the luminance of OLED devices with IZO thin films deposited in 0.5 sccm H2 ambient gas are the highest amongst all other films.

Keywords: IZO thin film, RF magnetron sputtering, Ambient gas, Electrical resistivity, OLED devic