The defect structure and composition of vacuum-annealed In2O3 ferromagnetic thin films was reported. Vacuum-annealed In2O3 was highly (some 7at%) oxygen-deficient. High-resolution microscopy revealed disordered glassy surface layers and crystalline defect states, O and In vacancies, and In–In clustering; predominantly in the vicinity of the surface. These defects were not observed in as-deposited In2O3 films. These structural defects were important for understanding many of the novel properties found in non-stoichiometric In2O3, including high conductivity and room-temperature ferromagnetism.

Coexistence of Anion and Cation Vacancy Defects in Vacuum-Annealed In2O3 Thin Films. C.Sudakar, A.Dixit, S.Kumar, M.B.Sahana, G.Lawes, R.Naik, V.M.Naik: Scripta Materialia, 2010, 62[2], 63-6