The zno-in2o3 oxide system as a material for low-temperature deposition of transparent electrodes

The development of optoelectronic devices based on flexible organic substrates substantially decreases the possible process temperatures during all stages of device manufacturing. This makes it urgent to search for new transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials, cheaper than traditional indium-tin oxide (ITO), for the low-temperature deposition of transparent electrodes, a necessary component of most optoelectronic devices. The article presents the results of a vertically integrated study aimed at the low-temperature production of TCO thin films based on a zinc-indium oxide (ZIO) system with acceptable functional characteristics. First, dense and conducting ceramic targets based on the (100-x) mol% (ZnO) + x mol% (In2O3 ) system (x = 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0) were synthesized by the spark plasma sintering method. The dependences of the microstructure and phase composition of the ZIO ceramic targets on the In2O3 content have been studied by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy methods. Then, a set of ZIO thin films with different Zn/In ratios were obtained on unheated glass substrates by direct current (dc) magnetron sputtering of the sintered targets. Complex studies of microstructure, electrical and optical properties of the deposited films have revealed the presence of an optimal doping level (5 mol% In2O3 ) of the ZIO target at which the deposited TCO films, in terms of the combination of their electrical and optical properties, become comparable to the widely used expensive ITO. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Authors
Akhmedov A.1 , Abduev A. 2 , Murliev E.1 , Asvarov A.3 , Muslimov A.3 , Kanevsky V.3
Journal
Publisher
MDPI AG
Number of issue
22
Language
English
Status
Published
Number
6859
Volume
14
Year
2021
Organizations
  • 1 Institute of Physics, Dagestan Federal Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Makhachkala, 367015, Russian Federation
  • 2 Basic Department of Nanotechnology and Microsystem Technology, Academy of Engineering, RUDN University, Moscow, 117198, Russian Federation
  • 3 Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Federal Scientific Research Center Crystallography and Photonics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333, Russian Federation
Keywords
Ceramic target; Conductivity; In2O3; Magnetron sputtering; Spark plasma sintering (SPS); Transmittance; Transparent conductive oxide (TCO); ZnO
Date of creation
16.12.2021
Date of change
16.12.2021
Short link
https://repository.rudn.ru/en/records/article/record/76514/
Share

Other records