Improvement of the opto-electrical properties of transparent conducting oxide lamellar films

Abstract

Thin ITO/Au/ITO lamellar films were prepared by a low-temperature process, and its microstructure development was analyzed to find an optimum thickness of the metallic layer to improve the optoelectrical properties. Crystalline ITO on the Au layer with a preferred orientation occurred with increasing thickness of the Au layer. The crystalline ITO had lower average surface roughness than the amorphous ITO layer. The sheet resistance of the ITO/Au/ITO lamellar film was lower than that of the amorphous ITO film. The ITO deposit on the gold layer with 10-nm thickness had a relatively homogeneous and uniform surface of ITO thin films. As the thickness of the gold layer of the ITO/Au/ITO increased, the carrier density tremendously increased, whereas the mobility and the transmittance were slightly decreased. Thin amorphous Au layer was effective to improve the transmittance.