1. Optimization of ZnO:Al/Ag/ZnO:Al structures for ultra-thin high-performance transparent conductive electrodes
- Author
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Francesca Simone, Stefano Boscarino, Antonio Terrasi, Isodiana Crupi, Salvatore Mirabella, V. Strano, Crupi, I., Boscarino, S., Strano, V., Mirabella, S., Simone, F., and Terrasi, A.
- Subjects
High transmittance ,Diffusion ,rf-Magnetron sputtering ,Electro-optical characteristic ,Glass substrate ,Transparent conductive oxide, RF magnetron sputtering, Optical properties, Electrical resistivity, Al-doped zinc oxide, Silver, Multilayers ,Settore ING-INF/01 - Elettronica ,SUBSTRATE-TEMPERATURE ,Ag diffusion ,Al-doped ZnO ,Low resistance ,Multilayer ,ZNO ,Materials Chemistry ,Visible spectral range ,MULTILAYER FILMS ,Al-doped zinc oxide ,Optical properties ,Metals and Alloys ,AZO film ,Electrical resistivity ,OPTICAL-PROPERTIES ,OXIDE-FILMS ,Surfaces and Interfaces ,Zinc oxide, Aluminum ,Radio frequency magnetron sputtering ,Surfaces, Coatings and Films ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials ,Optical and electrical propertie ,Electrode ,Optoelectronics ,Film preparation ,Layer (electronics) ,Magnetron sputtering ,Ultra-thin ,RF magnetron sputtering ,Materials science ,Silver ,Thermodynamic stability ,Optics ,Transparent conductive oxide ,Electrical resistivity and conductivity ,Thermal stability ,Electrical conductor ,Transparent conducting film ,Room temperature ,Thin film solar cell ,business.industry ,Transparent conductive ,Optical propertie ,Silver layer ,Multilayers ,Multi-layer-coating ,ZnO, Electric conductivity ,Measured propertie ,business ,Substrate - Abstract
Al-doped ZnO (AZO)/Ag/AZO multilayer coatings (50-70 nm thick) were grown at room temperature on glass substrates with different silver layer thickness, from 3 to 19 nm, by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Thermal stability of the compositional, optical and electrical properties of the AZO/Ag/AZO structures were investigated up to 400 °C and as a function of Ag film thickness. An AZO film as thin as 20 nm is an excellent barrier to Ag diffusion. The inclusion of 9.5 nm thin silver layer within the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) material leads to a maximum enhancement of the electro-optical characteristics. The excellent measured properties of low resistance, high transmittance in the visible spectral range and thermal stability allow these ultra-thin AZO/Ag/AZO structures to compete with the 1 μm thick TCO layer currently used in thin film solar cells. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Published
- 2012