Search results for "Transparent conductive"
showing 9 items of 9 documents
Optimization of ZnO:Al/Ag/ZnO:Al structures for ultra-thin high-performance transparent conductive electrodes
2012
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 transmittanc…
Correlated effects of fluorine and hydrogen in fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) transparent electrodes deposited by sputtering at room temperature
2021
The optical and electrical properties of fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) films deposited at room temperature by sputtering have been investigated varying the fluorine content and the hydrogen atmosphere. The complex behavior of the obtained films is disclosed using a wide set of characterization techniques that reveals the combined effects of these two parameters on the generated defects. These defects control the electrical transport (carrier density, mobility and conductivity), the optical properties (band gap and defects-related absorption and photoluminescence) and finally promote the amorphization of the samples. H2 in the sputtering gas does not modify the H content in the films but induc…
Robustness and electrical reliability of AZO/Ag/AZO thin film after bending stress
2017
Abstract The increasing interest in thin flexible and bendable devices has led to a strong demand for mechanically robust and electrically reliable transparent electrodes. Indium doped Tin Oxide (ITO) and Aluminium doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) are among the most employed transparent conductive oxides (TCO) and their reliability on flexible substrates have thus received a great attention. However, a high flexibility is usually achieved at very low thickness, which, unfortunately, compromises the electrical conductivity. Here we report the effects of mechanical bending cycles on the electrical and optical properties of ultra thin AZO/Ag/AZO multilayers (45 nm/10 nm/45 nm) and, for comparison, of AZ…
Role of the Back Metal-Semiconductor Contact on the Performances of a-Si:H Solar Cells
2011
We have investigated the role of the metal-semiconductor back contact on the performances of thin film modules consisting of single junction a-Si:H photovoltaic (PV) cells deposited with p-i-n configuration. We find that an adequate choice of the back contact helps reducing the barrier height of the junction improving the contact conductivity. For this purpose Mo has shown to be effective. Moreover we find that Mo, as refractory material, has additional beneficial effects reducing the formation of defects leading to the decrease of recombination losses. We have then fabricated a PV module on flexible substrate for indoor energy harvesting applications using Mo as back contact. An efficiency…
Nanostructuring thin Au films on transparent conductive oxide substrates
2013
Fabrication processes of Au nanostructures on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) surface by simple, versatile, and low-cost bottom-up methodologies are investigated in this work. A first methodology exploits the patterning effects induced by nanosecond laser irradiations on thin Au films deposited on ITO surface. We show that after the laser irradiations, the Au film break-up into nanoclusters whose mean size and surface density are tunable by the laser fluence. A second methodology exploits, instead, the patterning effects of standard furnace thermal processes on the Au film deposited on the ITO. We observe, in this case, a peculiar shape evolution from pre-formed nanoclusters during the Au deposition…
Ion irradiation of AZO thin films for flexible electronics
2017
Aluminum doped Zinc oxide (AZO) is a promising transparent conductor for solar cells, displays and touch-screen technologies. The resistivity of AZO is typically improved by thermal annealing at temperatures not suitable for plastic substrates. Here we present a non-thermal route to improve the electrical and structural properties of AZO by irradiating the TCO films with O+ or Ar+ ion beams (30–350 keV, 3 × 1015–3 × 1016 ions/cm2) after the deposition on glass and flexible polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). X-ray diffraction, optical absorption, electrical measurements, Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Atomic Force Microscopy evidenced an increase of the crystalline grain size and a …
Light absorption and conversion in solar cell based on Si:O alloy
2013
Thin film Si:O alloys have been grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, as intrinsic or highly doped (1 to 5 at. % of B or P dopant) layers. UV-visible/near-infrared spectroscopy revealed a great dependence of the absorption coefficient and of the optical gap (Eg) on the dopant type and concentration, as Eg decreases from 2.1 to 1.9 eV, for the intrinsic or highly p-doped sample, respectively. Thermal annealing up to 400 °C induces a huge H out-diffusion which causes a dramatic absorption increase and a reduction of Eg, down to less than 1.8 eV. A prototypal solar cell has been fabricated using a 400 nm thick, p-i-n structure made of Si:O alloy embedded within flat transparent c…
TCO/Ag/TCO transparent electrodes for solar cells application
2014
Among transparent electrodes, transparent conductive oxides (TCO)/metal/TCO structures can achieve optical and electrical performances comparable to, or better than, single TCO layers and very thin metallic films. In this work, we report on thin multilayers based on aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), indium tin oxide (ITO) and Ag deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on soda lime glass at room temperature. The TCO/Ag/TCO structures with thicknesses of about 50/10/50 nm were deposited with all combinations of AZO and ITO as top and bottom layers. While the electrical conductivity is dominated by the Ag intralayer irrespective of the TCO nature, the optical transmissions show a dependence on the natur…
Impact of transparent conductive oxide on the admittance of thin film solar cells
2010
Abstract The impact of transparent electrically conducting oxide (TCO) on the admittance measurements of thin film p–i–n a-Si:H solar cells was investigated. Admittance measurements on solar cell devices, with different area and geometry, in a wide range of frequencies and biases were performed. The admittance measurements of the investigated solar cells, which use the TCO as an electrical contact, showed that the high frequency admittance per area unit depends on the area. This effect increases both with the probe frequency and the size of the solar cells. Transmission line model valid for strip geometry which explains how the resistivity of the TCO layer impacts the measured admittance of…