Analysis of indium zinc oxide thin films by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

We have performed spectroscopic analysis of the plasma generated by Nd:YAG (lambda = 266 nm) laser irradiation of thin indium zinc oxide films with variable In content deposited by combinatorial pulsed laser deposition on glass substrates. The samples were irradiated in 5 x 10(4) Pa argon using laser pulses of 5 ns duration and 10 mJ energy. The plasma emission spectra were recorded with an Echelle spectrometer coupled to a gated detector with different delays with respect to the laser pulse. The relative concentrations of indium and zinc were evaluated by comparing the measured spectra to the spectral radiance computed for a plasma in local thermal equilibrium. Plasma temperature and electron density were deduced from the relative intensities and Stark broadening of spectral lines of atomic zinc. Analyses at different locations on the deposited thin films revealed that the In/(In + Zn) concentration ratio significantly varies over the sample surface, from 0.4 at the borders to about 0.5 in the center of the film. The results demonstrate that laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy allows for precise and fast characterization of thin films with variable composition. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3656448]