Characteristics of aluminum oxide deposition on an array of ITO nanowhiskers

In this work, we studied the process of deposition of aluminum oxide onto films formed by ITO nanowhiskers, as well as the effect of the protective layer on the optical characteristics of the coating. At the initial stages, a thin Al$_2$O$_3$ layer is formed on the surface of individual nanowhiskers, maintaining the gradient nature of the refractive index of the composite coating. As the Al$_2$O$_3$ layer thickness increases, due to the variation of ITO nanowhiskers in height, a relief is formed, formed by dome-shaped convexities on the surface of the resulting film with a characteristic scale of up to 1 $\mu$m, which makes it possible to create a structure that effectively scatters light.