Indium tin oxide nanowires grown by one-step thermal evaporation-deposition process at low temperature

Indium tin oxide (ITO), as one of the most important transparent conducting oxide, is widely used in electro-optical field. We have developed a simple one-step method to synthesize ITO nanowires at low temperature of 600 degrees C. In detail, mixtures of InN nanowires and SnO powder, with the molar ratio of 10:1, have been used as precursors for the thermal evaporation-deposition of ITO nanowires on silicon/quartz slices. During the growth process, the evaporation temperature is maintained at 600 degrees C, which favors the decomposition of InN and oxidation of In, with a limited incorporation of Sn in the resulting compound (In:Sn approximately 11:1 in atomic ratio). As far as we know, this is the lowest growth temperature reported on the thermal deposition of ITO nanowires. The diameters of the nanowires are about 120 nm and the lengths are up to tens of micrometers. XRD characterization indicates the high crystallization of the nanowires. HRTEM results show the nanowires grow along the [200] direction. The transmittance of the nanowire film on quartz slice is more than 75% in the visible region. Based on photolithography and lift-off techniques, four-terminal measurement was utilized to test the resistivity of individual nanowire (6.11 x 10(-4) omega x cm). The high crystallization quality, good transmittance and low resistivity make as-grown ITO nanowires a promising candidate as transparent electrodes of nanoscale devices.