Work function measurements on indium tin oxide films

We determined the work function of indium tin oxide (ITO) films on glass substrates using photoemission spectroscopy (PES). The ITO coated glass substrates were chemically cleaned ex-situ, oxygen plasma treated ex-situ, or sputtered in-situ. Our results suggest that the performance of ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) measurements can induce a significant work function reduction on the order of 0.4–0.5 eV, on ex-situ chemically and oxygen-plasma treated ITO samples. This was demonstrated by the use of low intensity X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) work function measurements before and after the UPS measurements were carried out.