Low-Temperature Fabrication of High-Performance and Stable GZO/Ag/GZO Multilayer Structures for Transparent Electrode Applications

Akmedov Akhmedov,Vladimir Kanevsky,Aslan Abduev,Abil Asvarov,Arsen Muslimov

doi:10.3390/coatings10030269

Akmedov Akhmedov, Vladimir Kanevsky + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10030269

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Abstract

Presently, research and development of indium-free stable highly transparent conductive (TC) materials is of paramount importance for the blooming world of information display systems and solar energy conversion. Development of devices based on flexible organic substrates further narrows the choice of possible TC materials due to the need for lower deposition and process temperatures. In our work, the structural, electrical, and optical performances of Ga-doped ZnO/Ag/Ga-doped ZnO (GZO/Ag/GZO) multilayered structures deposited on glass substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering in a pure Ar medium without any purposeful substrate heating have been investigated. The highest figure of merit achieved was 5.15 × 10−2 Ω−1 for the symmetric GZO/Ag/GZO multilayer, featuring GZO and Ag thicknesses of 40 and 10 nm, respectively, while the average optical transmittance was over 81% in the visible range of wavelengths and the resistivity was 2.2 × 10−5 Ω·cm. Additionally, the good durability of the performances of the multilayer structures was demonstrated by their testing in the context of long-term storage (over 500 days) in standard environmental conditions.

Highlights

Transparent electrodes (i.e., thin films based on transparent conductive (TC) materials) are some of the most important parts of many optoelectronic devices, such as touch panels, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), optical sensors, and solar cells [1,2,3,4,5].Nowadays, transparent electrodes based on Sn-doped In2 O3 (ITO) present outstanding optoelectronic performance and have been widely used in various commercial domains [1,6]
The surface morphology of the GAG samples was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM)
Surface, a well-marked change in with morphology typical SEM images of top view surfaces observed in this work

Summary

Introduction

Transparent electrodes based on Sn-doped In2 O3 (ITO) present outstanding optoelectronic performance and have been widely used in various commercial domains [1,6]. The wide use of ITO transparent electrodes in optoelectronic devices is gradually pushing up the cost of ITO electrodes because indium is not abundant on Earth. With the rapid development of new types of display systems, sensors, and solar energy, new requirements for transparent electrodes are emerging from device developers, in addition to their transparency and conductivity. It is getting harder for the traditional ITO electrodes to meet the new requirements.

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