Indium oxide nanoparticles were prepared in water using a Laser Pulsed Ablation
technique in Liquid (PLAL). The Nd:YAG laser was used as an ablation source. The
nanoparticles are deposited onto Si wafers by direct overcasting method and also glass
substrates covered with Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) by electrophoretic deposition (EPD)
method. The optical properties for the colloid (nanoparticles in water) are studied with
spectrophotometers. UV–vis spectral analysis showed that the solutions have an
absorption edge at 3 eV and average particle size about 30 nm. In order to estimate the
particle size of In2O3 in water, the colloidal solutions have been deposited on silicon
wafers and imaged by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). On the other hand, the
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is used to study the topographic nature of the
prepared thin film. The results of the spectrophotometric analysis show that the average
energy gap and the average particle size of In2O3 nano particles were about 3 eV and
about 30 nm; respectively. The interference technique which used to identify the
thickness of the films, deposited by electrophoretic deposition, showed that the thickness
is about 90 nm. The images of SEM showed that the film, prepared by electrophoretic
deposition on ITO substrates, is of porous structure. We observed that the overall process
time in this case is much shorter than CVD and PVD.
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