Defect detection and property evaluation of indium tin oxide conducting glass using optical coherence tomography

Abstract

This study demonstrates a new approach for evaluating the properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) conducting glass and identifying defects using optical coherence tomography (OCT). A swept-source OCT system was implemented to scan the ITO conducting glass to enable two-dimensional or three-dimensional imaging. With OCT scanning, the defects can be clearly identified at various depths. Several parameters in addition to morphological information can be estimated simultaneously, including the thickness of the glass substrate, the refractive index, reflection coefficient, and transmission coefficient, all of which can be used to evaluate the quality of ITO conducting glass. This study developed a modified method for evaluating the refractive index of glass substrates without having to perform multiple scans as well as a segmentation algorithm to separate the interfaces. The results show the potential of OCT as an imaging tool for the inspection of defects in ITO conducting glass.