Same Precursor, Two Different Products: Comparing the Structural Evolution of In-Ga-O "Gel-Derived" Powders and
Suzannah R Wood1, Keenan N Woods1, Paul N Plassmeyer1
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Material Science Institute, University of Oregon , Eugene, Oregon 97403, United States.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|March 23, 2017
Summary
Indium gallium oxide thin films and powders show different structural evolution. Advanced X-ray scattering reveals amorphous β-Ga2O3 as a major phase, crucial for understanding amorphous metal oxide applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Solid State Chemistry
Background:
- Amorphous metal oxides are vital for technological uses, with indium gallium oxide being a key material for thin-film transistors.
- Understanding the structural properties of these materials is essential for optimizing their performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural evolution of indium gallium oxide gel-derived powders and thin films.
- To compare the structural differences between powders and films derived from the same precursor.
- To explore the utility of pair distribution function (PDF) analysis in characterizing amorphous phases.
Main Methods:
- Infrared vibrational spectroscopy
- X-ray diffraction (XRD)
- Pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of X-ray total scattering (including thin-film PDF - tfPDF)
Main Results:
- Gel-derived powders and films exhibit distinct temperature-dependent structural evolution.
- Both materials form mixtures of Ga-substituted In2O3 and In-substituted β-Ga2O3.
- Amorphous/nanocrystalline β-Ga2O3 is identified as the dominant phase, often undetectable by conventional XRD.
- tfPDF analysis successfully characterized the amorphous β-Ga2O3 phase, revealing its structural features.
Conclusions:
- The combination of Bragg diffraction and tfPDF offers a comprehensive structural analysis of metal oxide thin films.
- tfPDF analysis is a powerful tool for elucidating the structure of amorphous materials.
- Understanding these structural details is key to correlating processing conditions with structure-property relationships in indium gallium oxide.
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