Thermal degradation of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film has been investigated. ITO thin
film was fabricated on glass substrate using RF magnetron sputtering and was characterized. The
resistivity of the film which was thermally degraded at high temperatures in air atmosphere was
increased highly. Thermally-degraded specimen was analyzed using XPS and Hall measurement to
reveal failure mechanism. Result showed that failure mechanism was the decrease in charge carrier
concentration and mobility due to oxygen diffusion and chemisorption. Accelerated degradation test
(ADT) was performed to predict the lifetime of ITO thin film. The lifetime under normal operating
condition could be predicted via statistical analysis and modeling of data acquired from ADT of a
short period.
Stability of CIGS solar cells and component materials evaluated by a step-stress accelerated degradation test method