Highly transparent and conductive double-layer oxide thin films as anodes for organic light-emitting diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Yu; Wang Lian; Yan He; Jin Shu; Marks, Tobin J.; Li Shuyou

2006-01-01

Double-layer transparent conducting oxide thin film structures containing In-doped CdO (CIO) and Sn-doped In 2 O 3 (ITO) layers were grown on glass by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition and ion-assisted deposition (IAD), respectively, and used as anodes for polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs). These films have a very low overall In content of 16 at. %. For 180-nm-thick CIO/ITO films, the sheet resistance is 5.6 Ω/□, and the average optical transmittance is 87.1% in the 400-700 nm region. The overall figure of merit (Φ=T 10 /R sheet ) of the double-layer CIO/ITO films is significantly greater than that of single-layer CIO, IAD-ITO, and commercial ITO films. CIO/ITO-based PLEDs exhibit comparable or superior device performance versus ITO-based control devices. CIO/ITO materials have a much lower sheet resistance than ITO, rendering them promising low In content electrode materials for large-area optoelectronic devices

Transparent Conductive Adhesives for Tandem Solar Cells Using Polymer-Particle Composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klein, Talysa [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lee, Benjamin G [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Schnabel, Manuel [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Warren, Emily L [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Stradins, Paul [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Tamboli, Adele C [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Van Hest, Marinus F [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2018-02-14

Transparent conductive adhesives (TCAs) can enable conductivity between two substrates, which is useful for a wide range of electronic devices. Here, we have developed a TCA composed of a polymer-particle blend with ethylene-vinyl acetate as the transparent adhesive and metal-coated flexible poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres as the conductive particles that can provide conductivity and adhesion regardless of the surface texture. This TCA layer was designed to be nearly transparent, conductive in only the out-of-plane direction, and of practical adhesive strength to hold the substrates together. The series resistance was measured at 0.3 and 0.8 O cm2 for 8 and 0.2% particle coverage, respectively, while remaining over 92% was transparent in both cases. For applications in photovoltaic devices, such as mechanically stacked multijunction III-V/Si cells, a TCA with 1% particle coverage will have less than 0.5% power loss due to the resistance and less than 1% shading loss to the bottom cell.

Improve the surface of silver nanowire transparent electrode using a double-layer structure for the quantum-dot light-emitting diodes

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Seok Hyeon; Been Heo, Su; Kang, Seong Jun

2018-03-01

We developed a double-layer structured transparent electrode for use in flexible quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). Silver nanowires (AgNWs) and highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) were coated on a transparent substrate to obtain a highly conductive and flexible transparent electrode. The highly conductive PEDOT:PSS improved the surface roughness of the AgNWs transparent electrode film as well as the surface coverage area of the film. The double-layer structured transparent electrode showed superior mechanical properties than conventional indium-tin oxide (ITO) and AgNWs transparent electrodes. QLEDs with the double-layer structured transparent electrode also showed good reliability under cyclic bending conditions. These results indicate that the double-layer structured AgNWs/PEDOT:PSS transparent electrode described here is a feasible alternative to ITO transparent electrodes for flexible QLEDs.

Self-assembled large scale metal alloy grid patterns as flexible transparent conductive layers

Science.gov (United States)

Mohl, Melinda; Dombovari, Aron; Vajtai, Robert; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Kordas, Krisztian

2015-09-01

The development of scalable synthesis techniques for optically transparent, electrically conductive coatings is in great demand due to the constantly increasing market price and limited resources of indium for indium tin oxide (ITO) materials currently applied in most of the optoelectronic devices. This work pioneers the scalable synthesis of transparent conductive films (TCFs) by exploiting the coffee-ring effect deposition coupled with reactive inkjet printing and subsequent chemical copper plating. Here we report two different promising alternatives to replace ITO, palladium-copper (PdCu) grid patterns and silver-copper (AgCu) fish scale like structures printed on flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrates, achieving sheet resistance values as low as 8.1 and 4.9 Ω/sq, with corresponding optical transmittance of 79% and 65% at 500 nm, respectively. Both films show excellent adhesion and also preserve their structural integrity and good contact with the substrate for severe bending showing less than 4% decrease of conductivity even after 105 cycles. Transparent conductive films for capacitive touch screens and pixels of microscopic resistive electrodes are demonstrated.

Microcrystalline silicon carbide alloys prepared with HWCVD as highly transparent and conductive window layers for thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finger, F.; Astakhov, O.; Bronger, T.; Carius, R.; Chen, T.; Dasgupta, A.; Gordijn, A.; Houben, L.; Huang, Y.; Klein, S.; Luysberg, M.; Wang, H.; Xiao, L.

2009-01-01

Crystalline silicon carbide alloys have a very high potential as transparent conductive window layers in thin-film solar cells provided they can be prepared in thin-film form and at compatible deposition temperatures. The low-temperature deposition of such material in microcrystalline form (μc-Si:C:H) was realized by use of monomethylsilane precursor gas diluted in hydrogen with the Hot-Wire Chemical Vapor Deposition process. A wide range of deposition parameters has been investigated and the structural, electronic and optical properties of the μc-SiC:H thin films have been studied. The material, which is strongly n-type from unintentional doping, has been used as window layer in n-side illuminated microcrystalline silicon solar cells. High short-circuit current densities are obtained due to the high transparency of the material resulting in a maximum solar cell conversion efficiency of 9.2%.

Bendable transparent conductive meshes based on multi-layer inkjet-printed silver patterns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Po-Chin; Hong, Chien-Chong; Liou, Tong-Miin

2016-01-01

Many consumer electronics manufacturers have used transparent conductive films in solar cells, LED devices, and touch panels as a medium for simultaneous electric charge transportation and light transmission. The conductivity and transmittance of transparent conductive films greatly affect the efficiency of these optoelectronic devices. This study presents a transparent and conductive mesh based on inkjet-printed silver and conductive polymer. Also, we propose a mathematical model for calculating the optimized mesh pattern. The proposed model precisely calculates an optimized line-width-to-line-spacing ratio. Furthermore, the results of our experiment verify the relationship between the line-width-to-line-spacing ratio and figure of merit. Compared with the equations of past studies, the equation proposed in this study is valid for a broader range of line-width-to-line-spacing ratios. In addition, the theoretical results of our study correlate more strongly with the experimental data of this study than with that of previous studies. To achieve the highest figure of merit, the values of the filling factor and the line-width-to-line-spacing ratio should be 0.05 and 19, respectively. Finally, we reduced the sheet resistance of the inkjet-printed mesh by 97.9% by applying multilayer printing. However, we were able to reduce only the optical transmittance of the mesh by 3.0%. The developed inkjet-printed silver meshes can survive more than 3500 bending tests simultaneous with application of 300 mA current. (paper)

Influence of transparent conductive oxides on passivation of a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunctions as studied by atomic layer deposited Al-doped ZnO

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Macco, B.; Deligiannis, D.; Smit, S.; Swaaij, van R.A.C.M.M.; Zeman, M.; Kessels, W.M.M.

2014-01-01

In silicon heterojunction solar cells, the main opportunities for efficiency gain lie in improvements of the front-contact layers. Therefore, the effect of transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) on the a-Si:H passivation performance has been investigated for Al-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) layers made by

Thin film photovoltaic devices with a minimally conductive buffer layer

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Teresa M.; Burst, James

2016-11-15

A thin film photovoltaic device (100) with a tunable, minimally conductive buffer (128) layer is provided. The photovoltaic device (100) may include a back contact (150), a transparent front contact stack (120), and an absorber (140) positioned between the front contact stack (120) and the back contact (150). The front contact stack (120) may include a low resistivity transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer (124) and a buffer layer (128) that is proximate to the absorber layer (140). The photovoltaic device (100) may also include a window layer (130) between the buffer layer (128) and the absorber (140). In some cases, the buffer layer (128) is minimally conductive, with its resistivity being tunable, and the buffer layer (128) may be formed as an alloy from a host oxide and a high-permittivity oxide. The high-permittivity oxide may further be chosen to have a bandgap greater than the host oxide.

Transparent conductive ZnO layers on polymer substrates: Thin film deposition and application in organic solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dosmailov, M. [Institute of Applied Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Leonat, L.N. [Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells (LIOS)/Institute of Physical Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Patek, J. [Institute of Applied Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Roth, D.; Bauer, P. [Institute of Experimental Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Scharber, M.C.; Sariciftci, N.S. [Linz Institute for Organic Solar Cells (LIOS)/Institute of Physical Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Pedarnig, J.D., E-mail: johannes.pedarnig@jku.at [Institute of Applied Physics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, A-4040 Linz (Austria)

2015-09-30

Aluminum doped ZnO (AZO) and pure ZnO thin films are grown on polymer substrates by pulsed-laser deposition and the optical, electrical, and structural film properties are investigated. Laser fluence, substrate temperature, and oxygen pressure are varied to obtain transparent, conductive, and stoichiometric AZO layers on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) that are free of cracks. At low fluence (1 J/cm{sup 2}) and low pressure (10{sup −3} mbar), AZO/PET samples of high optical transmission in the visible range, low electrical sheet resistance, and high figure of merit (FOM) are produced. AZO films on fluorinated ethylene propylene have low FOM. The AZO films on PET substrates are used as electron transport layer in inverted organic solar cell devices employing P3HT:PCBM as photovoltaic polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction. - Highlights: • Aluminum doped and pure ZnO thin films are grown on polyethylene terephthalate. • Growth parameters laser fluence, temperature, and gas pressure are optimized. • AZO films on PET have high optical transmission and electrical conductance (FOM). • Organic solar cells on PET using AZO as electron transport layer are made. • Power conversion efficiency of these OSC devices is measured.

Large-Area Chemical Vapor Deposited MoS2 with Transparent Conducting Oxide Contacts toward Fully Transparent 2D Electronics

KAUST Repository

Dai, Zhenyu

2017-09-08

2D semiconductors are poised to revolutionize the future of electronics and photonics, much like transparent oxide conductors and semiconductors have revolutionized the display industry. Herein, these two types of materials are combined to realize fully transparent 2D electronic devices and circuits. Specifically, a large-area chemical vapor deposition process is developed to grow monolayer MoS2 continuous films, which are, for the first time, combined with transparent conducting oxide (TCO) contacts. Transparent conducting aluminum doped zinc oxide contacts are deposited by atomic layer deposition, with composition tuning to achieve optimal conductivity and band-offsets with MoS2. The optimized process gives fully transparent TCO/MoS2 2D electronics with average visible-range transmittance of 85%. The transistors show high mobility (4.2 cm2 V−1 s−1), fast switching speed (0.114 V dec−1), very low threshold voltage (0.69 V), and large switching ratio (4 × 108). To our knowledge, these are the lowest threshold voltage and subthreshold swing values reported for monolayer chemical vapor deposition MoS2 transistors. The transparent inverters show fast switching properties with a gain of 155 at a supply voltage of 10 V. The results demonstrate that transparent conducting oxides can be used as contact materials for 2D semiconductors, which opens new possibilities in 2D electronic and photonic applications.

Efficient organic photovoltaic cells on a single layer graphene transparent conductive electrode using MoOx as an interfacial layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, J H; Jin, H; Zhang, Z K; Zhang, D D; Jia, S; Ma, L P; Ren, W C; Cheng, H M; Burn, P L

2017-01-07

The large surface roughness, low work function and high cost of transparent electrodes using multilayer graphene films can limit their application in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. Here, we develop single layer graphene (SLG) films as transparent anodes for OPV cells that contain light-absorbing layers comprised of the evaporable molecular organic semiconductor materials, zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc)/fullerene (C60), as well as a molybdenum oxide (MoO x ) interfacial layer. In addition to an increase in the optical transmittance, the SLG anodes had a significant decrease in surface roughness compared to two and four layer graphene (TLG and FLG) anodes fabricated by multiple transfer and stacking of SLGs. Importantly, the introduction of a MoO x interfacial layer not only reduced the energy barrier between the graphene anode and the active layer, but also decreased the resistance of the SLG by nearly ten times. The OPV cells with the structure of polyethylene terephthalate/SLG/MoO x /CuI/ZnPc/C60/bathocuproine/Al were flexible, and had a power conversion efficiency of up to 0.84%, which was only 17.6% lower than the devices with an equivalent structure but prepared on commercial indium tin oxide anodes. Furthermore, the devices with the SLG anode were 50% and 86.7% higher in efficiency than the cells with the TLG and FLG anodes. These results show the potential of SLG electrodes for flexible and wearable OPV cells as well as other organic optoelectronic devices.

The structural and electro-optical characteristics of AZO/Cr:Cu/AZO transparent conductive film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Tien-Chai; Huang, Wen-Chang; Tsai, Fu-Chun

2015-01-01

A novel triple-layered transparent conductive film, AZO/Cr:Cu/AZO (ACCA), was presented in the paper. The structural and electro-optical properties of the ACCA film were discussed. The thickness of the middle metal layer was constant and those of the AZO layers were varied. The ACCA film shows an obvious ZnO (002) c-axis preferential growth. No diffraction peaks related to Cr and Cu were observed through x-ray diffraction analysis. The middle Cr:Cu layer showed a thickness of 8.16 nm with a continuous and amorphous structure by the observation of a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). For the electro-optical characteristic, a best figure of merit (FOM) value of 3.54 × 10 −3 Ω −1 with a corresponding transmittance of 85% was obtained at the thickness of 116 nm of ACCA film. The high FOM value of the film is due to the improvement of conductivity and small sacrifices of transparency. - Highlights: • A novel triple-layered transparent conductive film, AZO/Cr:Cu/AZO is developed. • Chromium is added to copper to reduce the oxidation–reduction reaction. • The film has a FOM of 3.54 × 10 −3 Ω −1 with a corresponding transmittance of 85%. • The Cr:Cu layer shows a continuous and amorphous structure

The structural and electro-optical characteristics of AZO/Cr:Cu/AZO transparent conductive film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Tien-Chai [Department of Electrical Engineering, Kun Shan University, No. 195, Kun-Da Road, Yung-Kang Dist., Tainan 71003, Taiwan, ROC (China); Huang, Wen-Chang, E-mail: wchuang@mail.ksu.edu.tw [Department of Electro-Optical Engineering, Kun Shan University, No. 195, Kun-Da Road, Yung-Kang Dist., Tainan 71003, Taiwan, ROC (China); Tsai, Fu-Chun [Department of Electro-Optical Engineering, Kun Shan University, No. 195, Kun-Da Road, Yung-Kang Dist., Tainan 71003, Taiwan, ROC (China)

2015-08-31

A novel triple-layered transparent conductive film, AZO/Cr:Cu/AZO (ACCA), was presented in the paper. The structural and electro-optical properties of the ACCA film were discussed. The thickness of the middle metal layer was constant and those of the AZO layers were varied. The ACCA film shows an obvious ZnO (002) c-axis preferential growth. No diffraction peaks related to Cr and Cu were observed through x-ray diffraction analysis. The middle Cr:Cu layer showed a thickness of 8.16 nm with a continuous and amorphous structure by the observation of a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). For the electro-optical characteristic, a best figure of merit (FOM) value of 3.54 × 10{sup −3} Ω{sup −1} with a corresponding transmittance of 85% was obtained at the thickness of 116 nm of ACCA film. The high FOM value of the film is due to the improvement of conductivity and small sacrifices of transparency. - Highlights: • A novel triple-layered transparent conductive film, AZO/Cr:Cu/AZO is developed. • Chromium is added to copper to reduce the oxidation–reduction reaction. • The film has a FOM of 3.54 × 10{sup −3} Ω{sup −1} with a corresponding transmittance of 85%. • The Cr:Cu layer shows a continuous and amorphous structure.

New transparent metal-like bilayer composite films with highly conducting layers of {theta}-(BET-TTF){sub 2}Br.3H{sub 2}O nanocrystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mas-Torrent, M.; Laukhina, E.; Rovira, C.; Veciana, J. [Campus Univ. de Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain). Inst. de Ciencia de Materials; Tkacheva, V. [RAS, Chernogolovka (Russian Federation). Inst. of Problems of Chemical Physics; Zorina, L.; Khasanov, S. [RAS, Chernogolovka (Russian Federation). Inst. of Solid State Physics

2001-08-01

A novel conducting bilayer composite (BLC) film-a polycarbonate matrix with a conducting surface layer of a crystalline network of an organic conductor-is presented. A BLC film combines the high stability and physical properties of an organic conductor, in this case the molecular metal {theta}-(BET-TTF){sub 2}Br.3H{sub 2}O, with the flexibility, transparency, and low density of a polymer matrix. The determination of the optimal conditions for the preparation of the new film, which is extremely transparent and has metal-like transport properties down to liquid helium temperature, is described. (orig.)

Highly conducting and transparent sprayed indium tin oxide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rami, M.; Benamar, E.; Messaoudi, C.; Sayah, D.; Ennaoui, A. (Faculte des Sciences, Rabat (Morocco). Lab. de Physique des Materiaux)

1998-03-01

Indium tin oxide (ITO) has a wide range of applications in solar cells (e.g. by controlling the resistivity, we can use low conductivity ITO as buffer layer and highly conducting ITO as front contact in thin films CuInS[sub 2] and CuInSe[sub 2] based solar cells) due to its wide band gap (sufficient to be transparent) in both visible and near infrared range, and high carrier concentrations with metallic conduction. A variety of deposition techniques such as reactive electron beam evaporation, DC magnetron sputtering, evaporation, reactive thermal deposition, and spray pyrolysis have been used for the preparation of undoped and tin doped indium oxide. This latter process which makes possible the preparation of large area coatings has attracted considerable attention due to its simplicity and large scale with low cost fabrication. It has been used here to deposit highly transparent and conducting films of tin doped indium oxide onto glass substrates. The electrical, optical and structural properties have been investigated as a function of various deposition parameters namely dopant concentrations, temperature and nature of substrates. X-ray diffraction patterns have shown that deposited films are polycrystalline without second phases and have preferred orientation [400]. INdium tin oxide layers with small resistivity value around 7.10[sup -5] [omega].cm and transmission coefficient in the visible and near IR range of about 85-90% have been easily obtained. (authors) 13 refs.

Enhanced light extraction of GaN-based light-emitting diodes with periodic textured SiO2 on Al-doped ZnO transparent conductive layer

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Zhao; Bingfeng, Fan; Yiting, Chen; Yi, Zhuo; Zhoujun, Pang; Zhen, Liu; Gang, Wang

2016-07-01

We report an effective enhancement in light extraction of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with an Al-doped ZnO (AZO) transparent conductive layer by incorporating a top regular textured SiO2 layer. The 2 inch transparent through-pore anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane was fabricated and used as the etching mask. The periodic pore with a pitch of about 410 nm was successfully transferred to the surface of the SiO2 layer without any etching damages to the AZO layer and the electrodes. The light output power was enhanced by 19% at 20 mA and 56% at 100 mA compared to that of the planar LEDs without a patterned surface. This approach offers a technique to fabricate a low-cost and large-area regular pattern on the LED chip for achieving enhanced light extraction without an obvious increase of the forward voltage. ).

Enhanced light extraction of GaN-based light-emitting diodes with periodic textured SiO2 on Al-doped ZnO transparent conductive layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Yu; Fan Bingfeng; Chen Yiting; Zhuo Yi; Wang Gang; Pang Zhoujun; Liu Zhen

2016-01-01

We report an effective enhancement in light extraction of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with an Al-doped ZnO (AZO) transparent conductive layer by incorporating a top regular textured SiO 2 layer. The 2 inch transparent through-pore anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane was fabricated and used as the etching mask. The periodic pore with a pitch of about 410 nm was successfully transferred to the surface of the SiO 2 layer without any etching damages to the AZO layer and the electrodes. The light output power was enhanced by 19% at 20 mA and 56% at 100 mA compared to that of the planar LEDs without a patterned surface. This approach offers a technique to fabricate a low-cost and large-area regular pattern on the LED chip for achieving enhanced light extraction without an obvious increase of the forward voltage. (paper)

Highly transparent and thermal-stable silver nanowire conductive film covered with ZnMgO by atomic-layer-deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lei; Huang, Dongchen; Li, Min; Xu, Hua; Zou, Jianhua; Tao, Hong; Peng, Junbiao; Xu, Miao

2017-12-01

Solution-processed silver nanowires (AgNWs) have been considered as a promising material for next generation flexible transparent conductive electrodes. However AgNWs films have several intrinsic drawbacks, such as thermal stability and storage stability. Herein, we demonstrate a laminated ZnO/MgO (ZnMgO, ZMO) as a protective layer on the AgNWs films using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The fabricated films exhibited a low sheet resistance of 16 Ω/sq with high transmittance of 91% at 550 nm, an excellent thermal stability and bending property. The ZMO film grows perpendicularly on the surface of the AgNWs, making a perfect coverage of bulk silver nanowires and junction, which can effectively prompt the electrical transport behavior and enhance stability of the silver nanowires network.

Al-doped ZnO/Ag grid hybrid transparent conductive electrodes fabricated using a low-temperature process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

An, Ha-Rim; Oh, Sung-Tag [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 139-743 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Chang Yeoul [Future Convergence Ceramic Division, Korea Institute Ceramic Engineering and Technology (KICET), Seoul 233-5 (Korea, Republic of); Baek, Seong-Ho [Energy Research Division, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu 711-873 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Il-Kyu, E-mail: ikpark@ynu.ac.kr [Department of Electronic Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongbuk 712-749 (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Hyo-Jin, E-mail: hjahn@seoultech.ac.kr [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 139-743 (Korea, Republic of)

2014-12-05

Highlights: • Al-doped ZnO/Ag transparent conductive electrode is fabricated at low temperature. • Performance of the hybrid transparent conductive electrode affected by the structure. • The performance enhancement mechanism is suggested. - Abstract: Al-doped ZnO (AZO)/Ag grid hybrid transparent conductive electrode (TCE) structures were fabricated at a low temperature by using electrohydrodynamic jet printing for the Ag grids and atomic layer deposition for the AZO layers. The structural investigations showed that the AZO/Ag grid hybrid structures consisted of Ag grid lines formed by Ag particles and the AZO layer covering the inter-spacing between the Ag grid lines. The Ag particles comprising the Ag grid lines were also capped by thin AZO layers, and the coverage of the AZO layers was increased with increasing the thickness of the AZO layer. Using the optimum thickness of AZO layer of 70 nm, the hybrid TCE structure showed an electrical resistivity of 5.45 × 10{sup −5} Ω cm, an optical transmittance of 80.80%, and a figure of merit value of 1.41 × 10{sup −2} Ω{sup −1}. The performance enhancement was suggested based on the microstructural investigations on the AZO/Ag grid hybrid structures.

Transparent conducting oxide nanotubes

Science.gov (United States)

Alivov, Yahya; Singh, Vivek; Ding, Yuchen; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-09-01

Thin film or porous membranes made of hollow, transparent, conducting oxide (TCO) nanotubes, with high chemical stability, functionalized surfaces and large surface areas, can provide an excellent platform for a wide variety of nanostructured photovoltaic, photodetector, photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic devices. While large-bandgap oxide semiconductors offer transparency for incident light (below their nominal bandgap), their low carrier concentration and poor conductivity makes them unsuitable for charge conduction. Moreover, materials with high conductivity have nominally low bandgaps and hence poor light transmittance. Here, we demonstrate thin films and membranes made from TiO2 nanotubes heavily-doped with shallow Niobium (Nb) donors (up to 10%, without phase segregation), using a modified electrochemical anodization process, to fabricate transparent conducting hollow nanotubes. Temperature dependent current-voltage characteristics revealed that TiO2 TCO nanotubes, doped with 10% Nb, show metal-like behavior with resistivity decreasing from 6.5 × 10-4 Ωcm at T = 300 K (compared to 6.5 × 10-1 Ωcm for nominally undoped nanotubes) to 2.2 × 10-4 Ωcm at T = 20 K. Optical properties, studied by reflectance measurements, showed light transmittance up to 90%, within wavelength range 400 nm-1000 nm. Nb doping also improves the field emission properties of TCO nanotubes demonstrating an order of magnitude increase in field-emitter current, compared to undoped samples.

III-V/Si wafer bonding using transparent, conductive oxide interlayers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tamboli, Adele C., E-mail: Adele.Tamboli@nrel.gov; Hest, Maikel F. A. M. van; Steiner, Myles A.; Essig, Stephanie; Norman, Andrew G.; Bosco, Nick; Stradins, Paul [National Center for Photovoltaics, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Pkwy, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States); Perl, Emmett E. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106-9560 (United States)

2015-06-29

We present a method for low temperature plasma-activated direct wafer bonding of III-V materials to Si using a transparent, conductive indium zinc oxide interlayer. The transparent, conductive oxide (TCO) layer provides excellent optical transmission as well as electrical conduction, suggesting suitability for Si/III-V hybrid devices including Si-based tandem solar cells. For bonding temperatures ranging from 100 °C to 350 °C, Ohmic behavior is observed in the sample stacks, with specific contact resistivity below 1 Ω cm{sup 2} for samples bonded at 200 °C. Optical absorption measurements show minimal parasitic light absorption, which is limited by the III-V interlayers necessary for Ohmic contact formation to TCOs. These results are promising for Ga{sub 0.5}In{sub 0.5}P/Si tandem solar cells operating at 1 sun or low concentration conditions.

ITO nanoparticles reused from ITO scraps and their applications to sputtering target for transparent conductive electrode layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Sung-Jei; Song, Sang-Hyun; Kim, Byeong Jun; Lee, Jae-Yong; Kim, Young-Sung

2017-01-01

In this study, ITO nanoparticles (ITO-NPs) were reused from ITO target scraps to synthesize low cost ITO-NPs and to apply to make sputtering target for transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs). By controlling heat-treatment temperature as 980 °C, we achieved reused ITO-NPs having Brunauer, Emmett and Teller specific surface area (BET SSA) and average particle size 8.05 m 2 /g and 103.8 nm, respectively. The BET SSA decreases along with increasing heat-treatment temperature. The ITO-NPs were grown as round mound shape, and highly crystallized to (222) preferred orientations. Also, applying the reused ITO-NPs, we achieved an ITO target of which density was 99.6%. Using the ITO target, we achieved high quality TCE layer of which sheet resistance and optical transmittance at 550 nm were 29.5 Ω/sq. and 82.3%. Thus, it was confirmed that the reused ITO-NPs was feasible to sputtering target for TCEs layer.

ITO nanoparticles reused from ITO scraps and their applications to sputtering target for transparent conductive electrode layer

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Sung-Jei; Song, Sang-Hyun; Kim, Byeong Jun; Lee, Jae-Yong; Kim, Young-Sung

2017-09-01

In this study, ITO nanoparticles (ITO-NPs) were reused from ITO target scraps to synthesize low cost ITO-NPs and to apply to make sputtering target for transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs). By controlling heat-treatment temperature as 980 °C, we achieved reused ITO-NPs having Brunauer, Emmett and Teller specific surface area (BET SSA) and average particle size 8.05 m2/g and 103.8 nm, respectively. The BET SSA decreases along with increasing heat-treatment temperature. The ITO-NPs were grown as round mound shape, and highly crystallized to (222) preferred orientations. Also, applying the reused ITO-NPs, we achieved an ITO target of which density was 99.6%. Using the ITO target, we achieved high quality TCE layer of which sheet resistance and optical transmittance at 550 nm were 29.5 Ω/sq. and 82.3%. Thus, it was confirmed that the reused ITO-NPs was feasible to sputtering target for TCEs layer.

Transparent conductive oxide films embedded with plasmonic nanostructure for light-emitting diode applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chuang, Shih-Hao; Tsung, Cheng-Sheng; Chen, Ching-Ho; Ou, Sin-Liang; Horng, Ray-Hua; Lin, Cheng-Yi; Wuu, Dong-Sing

2015-02-04

In this study, a spin coating process in which the grating structure comprises an Ag nanoparticle layer coated on a p-GaN top layer of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diode (LED) was developed. Various sizes of plasmonic nanoparticles embedded in a transparent conductive layer were clearly observed after the deposition of indium tin oxide (ITO). The plasmonic nanostructure enhanced the light extraction efficiency of blue LED. Output power was 1.8 times the magnitude of that of conventional LEDs operating at 350 mA, but retained nearly the same current-voltage characteristic. Unlike in previous research on surface-plasmon-enhanced LEDs, the metallic nanoparticles were consistently deposited over the surface area. However, according to microstructural observation, ITO layer mixed with Ag-based nanoparticles was distributed at a distance of approximately 150 nm from the interface of ITO/p-GaN. Device performance can be improved substantially by using the three-dimensional distribution of Ag-based nanoparticles in the transparent conductive layer, which scatters the propagating light randomly and is coupled between the localized surface plasmon and incident light internally trapped in the LED structure through total internal reflection.

EDITORIAL: On display with transparent conducting films On display with transparent conducting films

Science.gov (United States)

Demming, Anna

2012-03-01

Transparent conducting films were already featuring in scientific literature over one hundred years ago. In 1894 Aryton and Mather described a conducting varnish for coating the screens of electric apparatus so they would not charge when accidentally brushed by a coat sleeve or other material [1]. Their method began with a similar approach to that used to make savoury jellies; by dissolving gelatine in vinegar, after which less palatable ingredients were incorporated including sulphuric acid and an antisulphuric enamel. While the search for transparent conducting films continued to attract other researchers, the same problem remained: the transparency would be compromised if the film was too thick, and the conductivity would be compromised if the film was too thin. In the early 1950s Gillham and Preston reported that thin gold films sputtered on bismuth oxide and heated resulted in a material that successfully combined the previously mutually exclusive properties of transparency and conductivity [2]. Other oxide films were also found to favourably combine these properties, including tin oxide, as reported by Ishiguro and colleagues in Japan in 1958 [3]. Today tin oxide doped with indium (ITO) has become the industry standard for transparent conducting films in a range of applications including photovoltaic technology and displays. It is perhaps the mounting ubiquity of electronic displays as a result of the increasingly digitised and computerised environment of the modern day world that has begun to underline the main drawback of ITO: expense. In this issue, a collaboration of researchers in Korea present an overview of graphene as a transparent conducting material with the potential to replace ITO in a range of electronic and optoelectronic applications [4]. One of the first innovations in optical microscopy was the use of dyes. This principle first came into practice with the use of ultraviolet light to reveal previously indistinguishable features. As explained

Atomic-Layer-Deposited Transparent Electrodes for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demaurex, Benedicte; Seif, Johannes P.; Smit, Sjoerd; Macco, Bart; Kessels, W. M.; Geissbuhler, Jonas; De Wolf, Stefaan; Ballif, Christophe

2014-01-01

We examine damage-free transparent-electrode deposition to fabricate high-efficiency amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells. Such solar cells usually feature sputtered transparent electrodes, the deposition of which may damage the layers underneath. Using atomic layer deposition, we insert thin protective films between the amorphous silicon layers and sputtered contacts and investigate their effect on device operation. We find that a 20-nm-thick protective layer suffices to preserve, unchanged, the amorphous silicon layers beneath. Insertion of such protective atomic-layer-deposited layers yields slightly higher internal voltages at low carrier injection levels. However, we identify the presence of a silicon oxide layer, formed during processing, between the amorphous silicon and the atomic-layer-deposited transparent electrode that acts as a barrier, impeding hole and electron collection

The Preparation and Property of Graphene /Tin Oxide Transparent Conductive Film

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SUN Tao

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Graphene doped tin oxide composites were prepared with SnCIZ·2HZ 0 and graphene oxide as raw materials with sol-gel method and then spincoated on the quartz glass to manufacture a new transparent conductive film. The composite film was characterized with X-ray diffraction(XRDand scanning electron microscopy(SEM analysis. XRD results show that the graphene oxide was successfully prepared with Hummers method. The graphene layers and particulate SnOZ can be clearly observed in SEM photos. The transmittance and conductivity of the thin films were tested with ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer and Hall effect measurement. The results show that the transmittivity of composite film in visible region is more than 90% and surface square resistance is 41 S2/口.The graphene/ SnOZ film exhibits a higher performance in transparence and conductivity than commercial FTO glass.

On interaction of P-waves with one-dimensional photonic crystal consisting of weak conducting matter and transparent dielectric layers

Science.gov (United States)

Yushkanov, A. A.; Zverev, N. V.

2018-03-01

An influence of quantum and spatial dispersion properties of the non-degenerate electron plasma on the interaction of electromagnetic P-waves with one-dimensional photonic crystal consisting of conductor with low carrier electron density and transparent dielectric matter, is studied numerically. It is shown that at the frequencies of order of the plasma frequency and at small widths of the conducting and dielectric layers of the photonic crystal, optical coefficients in the quantum non-degenerate plasma approach differ from the coefficients in the classical electron gas approach. And also, at these frequencies one observes a temperature dependence of the optical coefficients.

Bromination of graphene: a new route to making high performance transparent conducting electrodes with low optical losses

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Ahmed

2015-09-03

The high optical transmittance, electrical conductivity, flexibility and chemical stability of graphene have triggered great interest in its application as a transparent conducting electrode material and as a potential replacement for indium doped tin oxide. However, currently available large scale production methods such as chemical vapor deposition produce polycrystalline graphene, and require additional transfer process which further introduces defects and impurities resulting in a significant increase in its sheet resistance. Doping of graphene with foreign atoms has been a popular route for reducing its sheet resistance which typically comes at a significant loss in optical transmission. Herein, we report the successful bromine doping of graphene resulting in air-stable transparent conducting electrodes with up to 80% reduction of sheet resistance reaching ~180 Ω/ at the cost of 2-3% loss of optical transmission in case of few layer graphene and 0.8% in case of single layer graphene. The remarkably low tradeoff in optical transparency leads to the highest enhancements in figure of merit reported thus far. Furthermore, our results show a controlled increase in the workfunction up to 0.3 eV with the bromine content. These results should help pave the way for further development of graphene as potentially a highly transparent substitute to other transparent conducting electrodes in optoelectronic devices.

Preparation of Aluminum Nanomesh Thin Films from an Anodic Aluminum Oxide Template as Transparent Conductive Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yiwen; Chen, Yulong; Qiu, Mingxia; Yu, Hongyu; Zhang, Xinhai; Sun, Xiao Wei; Chen, Rui

2016-02-01

We have employed anodic aluminum oxide as a template to prepare ultrathin, transparent, and conducting Al films with a unique nanomesh structure for transparent conductive electrodes. The anodic aluminum oxide template is obtained through direct anodization of a sputtered Al layer on a glass substrate, and subsequent wet etching creates the nanomesh metallic film. The optical and conductive properties are greatly influenced by experimental conditions. By tuning the anodizing time, transparent electrodes with appropriate optical transmittance and sheet resistance have been obtained. The results demonstrate that our proposed strategy can serve as a potential method to fabricate low-cost TCEs to replace conventional indium tin oxide materials.

ZnO-Nanorod Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells: New Structure without a Transparent Conducting Oxide Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ming-Hong Lai

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Conventional nanorod-based dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs are fabricated by growing nanorods on top of a transparent conducting oxide (TCO, typically fluorine-doped tin oxide—FTO. The heterogeneous interface between the nanorod and TCO forms a source for carrier scattering. This work reports on a new DSSC architecture without a TCO layer. The TCO-less structure consists of ZnO nanorods grown on top of a ZnO film. The ZnO film replaced FTO as the TCO layer and the ZnO nanorods served as the photoanode. The ZnO nanorod/film structure was grown by two methods: (1 one-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD (2 two-step chemical bath deposition (CBD. The thicknesses of the nanorods/film grown by CVD is more uniform than that by CBD. We demonstrate that the TCO-less DSSC structure can operate properly as solar cells. The new DSSCs yield the best short-current density of 3.96 mA/cm2 and a power conversion efficiency of 0.73% under 85 mW/cm2 of simulated solar illumination. The open-circuit voltage of 0.80 V is markedly higher than that from conventional ZnO DSSCs.

Preparation of flexible and heat-resisting conductive transparent film by the pyrosol process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Usami, Hisanao; Nakasa, Akihiko; Adachi, Mami; Suzuki, Eiji; Fujimatsu, Hitoshi; Ohashi, Tatsuya; Yamada, Shigeo; Tsugita, Kouhei; Taniguchi, Yoshio

2006-01-01

A pyrosol process was successfully applied for the preparation of a flexible, conductive, and transparent inorganic film, a tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) film lined with a thin mica layer. This flexible heat-resistant ITO-mica film exhibited high conductivity and transparency, comparable to ITO deposited on glass substrate. The minimum radius of bending for the film, without any recognizable change in the conductivity and appearance, was 8 mm. The ITO deposited on mica showed a large (222) diffraction peak with a smaller (400) peak, in contrast to ITO deposited with (400) orientation on an ordinary glass substrate. Using the ITO-mica film, a prototype model of a flexible organic light emitting diode was fabricated

High mobility transparent conducting oxides for thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calnan, S.; Tiwari, A.N.

2010-01-01

A special class of transparent conducting oxides (TCO) with high mobility of > 65 cm 2 V -1 s -1 allows film resistivity in the low 10 -4 Ω cm range and a high transparency of > 80% over a wide spectrum, from 300 nm to beyond 1500 nm. This exceptional coincidence of desirable optical and electrical properties provides opportunities to improve the performance of opto-electronic devices and opens possibilities for new applications. Strategies to attain high mobility (HM) TCO materials as well as the current status of such materials based on indium and cadmium containing oxides are presented. Various concepts used to understand the underlying mechanisms for high mobility in HMTCO films are discussed. Examples of HMTCO layers used as transparent electrodes in thin film solar cells are used to illustrate possible improvements in solar cell performance. Finally, challenges and prospects for further development of HMTCO materials are discussed.

Transparent conducting oxide top contacts for organic electronics

KAUST Repository

Franklin, Joseph B.

2014-01-01

A versatile method for the deposition of transparent conducting oxide (TCO) layers directly onto conjugated polymer thin film substrates is presented. Using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) we identify a narrow window of growth conditions that permit the deposition of highly transparent, low sheet resistance aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) without degradation of the polymer film. Deposition on conjugated polymers mandates the use of low growth temperatures (<200°C), here we deposit AZO onto poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) thin films at 150°C, and investigate the microstructural and electrical properties of the AZO as the oxygen pressure in the PLD chamber is varied (5-75 mTorr). The low oxygen pressure conditions previously optimized for AZO deposition on rigid substrates are shown to be unsuitable, resulting in catastrophic damage of the polymer films. By increasing the oxygen pressure, thus reducing the energy of the ablated species, we identify conditions that allow direct deposition of continuous, transparent AZO films without P3HT degradation. We find that uptake of oxygen into the AZO films reduces the intrinsic charge carriers and AZO films with a measured sheet resistance of approximately 500 Ω □-1 can be prepared. To significantly reduce this value we identify a novel process in which AZO is deposited over a range of oxygen pressures-enabling the deposition of highly transparent AZO with sheet resistances below 50 Ω □-1 directly onto P3HT. We propose these low resistivity films are widely applicable as transparent top-contacts in a range of optoelectronic devices and highlight this by demonstrating the operation of a semi-transparent photovoltaic device. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry. 2014.

Transparent conducting oxides and production thereof

Science.gov (United States)

Gessert, Timothy A.; Yoshida, Yuki; Coutts, Timothy J.

2014-06-10

Transparent conducting oxides and production thereof are disclosed. An exemplary method of producing a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) material may comprise: providing a TCO target doped with either a high-permittivity oxide or a low-permittivity oxide in a process chamber. The method may also comprise depositing a metal oxide on the target in the process chamber to form a thin film having enhanced optical properties without substantially decreasing electrical quality.

Enhanced electrical conductivity in Xe ion irradiated CNT based transparent conducting electrode on PET substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Surbhi; Sharma, Vikas; Singh, Satyavir; Garg, Priyanka; Asokan, K.; Sachdev, Kanupriya

2018-02-01

An investigation of MWCNT-based hybrid electrode films with improved electrical conductivity after Xe ion irradiation is reported. A multilayer hybrid structure of Ag-MWCNT layer embedded in between two ZnO layers was fabricated and evaluated, pre and post 100 keV Xe ion irradiation, for their performance as Transparent Conducting Electrode in terms of their optical and electrical properties. X-ray diffraction pattern exhibits highly c-axis oriented ZnO films with a small variation in lattice parameters with an increase in ion fluence. There is no significant change in the surface roughness of these films. Raman spectra were used to confirm the presence of CNT. The pristine multilayer films exhibit an average transmittance of ˜70% in the entire visible region and the transmittance increases with Xe ion fluence. A significant enhancement in electrical conductivity post-Xe ion irradiation viz from 1.14 × 10-7 Ω-1 cm-1 (pristine) to 7.04 × 103 Ω-1 cm-1 is seen which is due to the high connectivity in the top layer with Ag-CNT hybrid layer facilitating the smooth transfer of electrons.

Investigation of ITO layers for application as transparent contacts in flexible photovoltaic cell structures

Science.gov (United States)

Znajdek, Katarzyna; Sibiński, Maciej

2013-07-01

In this paper authors present the mechanical, optical and electrical parameters of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) Transparent Conductive Layers (TCL) deposited on flexible substrate. Layers' properties are analyzed and verified. Investigated Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) was deposited, using magnetron sputtering method. Flexible polymer PET (polyethylene terephthalate) foil was used as a substrate, in order to photovoltaic (PV) cell's emitter contact application of investigated material. ITO-coated PET foils have been dynamically bent on numerous cylinders of various diameters according to the standard requirements. Resistance changes for each measured sample were measured and recorded during bending cycle. Thermal durability, as well as temperature influence on resistance and optical transmission are verified. Presented results were conducted to verify practical suitability and to evaluate possible applications of Indium Tin Oxide as a front contact in flexible photovoltaic cell structures.

Printable Transparent Conductive Films for Flexible Electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dongdong; Lai, Wen-Yong; Zhang, Yi-Zhou; Huang, Wei

2018-03-01

Printed electronics are an important enabling technology for the development of low-cost, large-area, and flexible optoelectronic devices. Transparent conductive films (TCFs) made from solution-processable transparent conductive materials, such as metal nanoparticles/nanowires, carbon nanotubes, graphene, and conductive polymers, can simultaneously exhibit high mechanical flexibility, low cost, and better photoelectric properties compared to the commonly used sputtered indium-tin-oxide-based TCFs, and are thus receiving great attention. This Review summarizes recent advances of large-area flexible TCFs enabled by several roll-to-roll-compatible printed techniques including inkjet printing, screen printing, offset printing, and gravure printing using the emerging transparent conductive materials. The preparation of TCFs including ink formulation, substrate treatment, patterning, and postprocessing, and their potential applications in solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and touch panels are discussed in detail. The rational combination of a variety of printed techniques with emerging transparent conductive materials is believed to extend the opportunities for the development of printed electronics within the realm of flexible electronics and beyond. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Indium-free Cu/fluorine doped ZnO composite transparent conductive electrodes with stretchable and flexible performance on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jun; Gong, Haibo; Yang, Xiaopeng; Qiu, Zhiwen; Zi, Min; Qiu, Xiaofeng; Wang, Hongqiang; Cao, Bingqiang

2015-03-01

Material-abundant ZnO and metal thin film have been proposed as potential alternatives for the most widely commercial indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent and conductive electrode. Yet the deterioration of optical transparency and conductivity for these materials makes them difficult to compete with ITO. In this work, a double-layer structured film-composed of FZO and Cu film is presented at room temperature, which combines the high transparency of FZO and high conductivity of Cu film. We first studied the effect of oxygen pressure on the transparency and conductivity of free-standing FZO layer deposited on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) by PLD method. Also the structural, electrical, and optical properties of bilayers electrode dependence on the Cu layer thickness were optimized in detail. As the Cu layer thickness increases, the resistivity decreases. The lowest resistivity of 6.6 × 10-5 Ω cm with a carrier concentration of 1.11 × 1022 cm-3 and mobility of 8.52 cm2 V-1 s-1 was obtained at the optimum Cu (12 nm) layer thickness. We find that FZO layer have anti-reflection effect for Cu/FZO (250 nm) bilayer in the wavelength range of 650-1000 nm compared with single Cu layer. And we firstly study the stretchable performance for Cu film-based composite electrodes with stretching ratio changing from 0 to 5%. Furthermore, we study excellent mechanical flexibility and stability of composite electrodes by bending test.

Transparent conductors from layer-by-layer assembled SWNT films: importance of mechanical properties and a new figure of merit.

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Bong Sup; Zhu, Jian; Jan, Edward; Critchley, Kevin; Kotov, Nicholas A

2010-07-27

New transparent conductors (TCs) capable of replacing traditional indium tin oxide (ITO) are much needed for displays, sensors, solar cells, smart energy-saving windows, and flexible electronics. Technical requirements of TCs include not only high electrical conductivity and transparency but also environmental stability and mechanical property which are often overlooked in the research environment. Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) coatings have been suggested as alternative TC materials but typically lack sufficient wear resistance compared to ITO. Balancing conductance, transparency, durability, and flexibility is a formidable challenge, which leads us to the introduction of a new TC figure of merit, PiTC, incorporating all these qualities. Maximization of PiTC to that of ITO or better can be suggested as an initial research goal. Fine tuning of SWNT layer-by-layer (LBL) polymeric nanocomposite structures makes possible integration of all the necessary properties. The produced TC demonstrated resistivity of 86 Omega/sq with 80.2% optical transmittance combined with tensile modulus, strength, and toughness of the film of 12.3+/-3.4 GPa, 218+/-13 MPa, and 8+/-1.7 J/g, respectively. A new transparent capping layer to conserve these properties in the hostile environment with matching or better strength, toughness, and transparency parameters was also demonstrated. Due to application demands, bending performance of TC made by LBL was of special interest and exceeded that of ITO by at least 100 times. Cumulative figure of merit PiTC for the produced coatings was 0.15 Omega(-1), whereas the conventional ITO showed PiTCOmega(-1). With overall electrical and optical performance comparable to ITO and exceptional mechanical properties, the described coatings can provide an excellent alternative to ITO or other nanowire- and nanotube-based TC specifically in flexible electronics, displays, and sensors.

Conductivity in transparent oxide semiconductors.

Science.gov (United States)

King, P D C; Veal, T D

2011-08-24

Despite an extensive research effort for over 60 years, an understanding of the origins of conductivity in wide band gap transparent conducting oxide (TCO) semiconductors remains elusive. While TCOs have already found widespread use in device applications requiring a transparent contact, there are currently enormous efforts to (i) increase the conductivity of existing materials, (ii) identify suitable alternatives, and (iii) attempt to gain semiconductor-engineering levels of control over their carrier density, essential for the incorporation of TCOs into a new generation of multifunctional transparent electronic devices. These efforts, however, are dependent on a microscopic identification of the defects and impurities leading to the high unintentional carrier densities present in these materials. Here, we review recent developments towards such an understanding. While oxygen vacancies are commonly assumed to be the source of the conductivity, there is increasing evidence that this is not a sufficient mechanism to explain the total measured carrier concentrations. In fact, many studies suggest that oxygen vacancies are deep, rather than shallow, donors, and their abundance in as-grown material is also debated. We discuss other potential contributions to the conductivity in TCOs, including other native defects, their complexes, and in particular hydrogen impurities. Convincing theoretical and experimental evidence is presented for the donor nature of hydrogen across a range of TCO materials, and while its stability and the role of interstitial versus substitutional species are still somewhat open questions, it is one of the leading contenders for yielding unintentional conductivity in TCOs. We also review recent work indicating that the surfaces of TCOs can support very high carrier densities, opposite to the case for conventional semiconductors. In thin-film materials/devices and, in particular, nanostructures, the surface can have a large impact on the total

Bromination of Graphene: A New Route to Making High Performance Transparent Conducting Electrodes with Low Optical Losses

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Ahmed

2015-07-22

The unique optical and electrical properties of graphene have triggered great interest in its application as a transparent conducting electrode material and significant effort has been invested in achieving high conductivity while maintaining transparency. Doping of graphene has been a popular route for reducing its sheet resistance, but this has typically come at a significant cost in optical transmission. We demonstrate doping of few layers graphene with bromine as a means of enhancing the conductivity via intercalation without major optical losses. Our results demonstrate the encapsulation of bromine leads to air-stable transparent conducting electrodes with five-fold improvement of sheet resistance reaching at the cost of only 2-3% loss of optical transmission. The remarkably low tradeoff in optical transparency leads to the highest enhancements in the figure of merit reported thus far for FLG. Furthermore, we tune the workfunction by up to 0.3 eV by tuning the bromine content. These results should help pave the way for further development of graphene as a potential substitute to transparent conducting polymers and metal oxides used in optoelectronics, photovoltaics and beyond.

Ablation of selected conducting layers by fiber laser

Science.gov (United States)

Pawlak, Ryszard; Tomczyk, Mariusz; Walczak, Maria

2014-08-01

Laser Direct Writing (LDW) are used in the manufacture of electronic circuits, pads, and paths in sub millimeter scale. They can also be used in the sensors systems. Ablative laser writing in a thin functional layer of material deposited on the dielectric substrate is one of the LDW methods. Nowadays functional conductive layers are composed from graphene paint or nanosilver paint, indium tin oxide (ITO), AgHTTM and layers containing carbon nanotubes. Creating conducting structures in transparent layers (ITO, AgHT and carbon nanotubes layers) may have special importance e.g. for flexi electronics. The paper presents research on the fabrication of systems of paths and appropriate pattern systems of paths and selected electronic circuits in AgHTTM and ITO layers deposited on glass and polymer substrates. An influence of parameters of ablative fiber laser treatment in nanosecond regime as well as an influence of scanning mode of laser beam on the pattern fidelity and on electrical parameters of a generated circuit was investigated.

Nanostructured Transparent Conducting Oxides for Device Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Dutta, Titas

2011-12-01

Research on transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO) has attracted a lot of attention due to the serious concern related to cost and chemical stability of indium tin oxide. The primary aim of this research is to develop low cost alternative transparent conducting oxides with an eye towards (1) increasing the organic solar cell efficiency and (2) fabricating transparent electronic devices utilizing p-type TCOs. To investigate the fundamental properties, the novel TCO films have been grown on sapphire and economical glass substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The films were also grown under different deposition conditions in order to understand the effect of processing parameters on the film properties. The characteristics of the thin films have been investigated in detail using (X-ray diffraction, TEM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV- photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), four probe resistivity and UV-Vis transmittance measurements) in order to establish processing-structure-property correlation. ZnO doped with group III elements is a promising candidate because of its superior stability in hydrogen environment, benign nature and relatively inexpensive supply. However, ZnO based TCO films suffer from low work function (4.4 eV, compared to that of 4.8 eV for ITO), which increases the energy barrier and affects the carrier transport across ZnGa0.05O/organic layer interface. To overcome this issue of ZnO based TCOs, the growth of bilayered structure consisting of very thin MoOx (2.0 target composition. These optimized bilayer films exhibited good optical transmittance (≥ 80%) and low resistivity of ˜ 10-4 O-cm. The optimized NiO1+x / GZO and MoOx / GZO bilayers showed significant increase in work function values (˜5.3 eV). The work function of the bilayer films was tuned by varying the processing conditions and doping of over layers. Preliminary test device results of the organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs

New transparent conductive metal based on polymer composite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keshavarz Hedayati, Mehdi; Jamali, Mohammad [Nanochemistry and Nanoengineering, Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel (Germany); Strunkus, Thomas; Zaporochentko, Vladimir; Faupel, Franz [Multicomponent Materials, Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel (Germany); Elbahri, Mady [Nanochemistry and Nanoengineering, Institute for Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel (Germany); Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht GmbH, Institute of Polymer Research, Nanochemistry and Nanoengineering (Germany)

2011-07-01

Currently great efforts are made to develop new kind of transparent conductors (TCs) to replace ITO. In this regard different materials and composites have been proposed and studied including conductive polymers, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), metal grids, and random networks of metallic nanowires. But so far none of them could be used as a replacing material, since either they are either fragile and brittle or their electrical conductivity is below the typical ITO. Thin metallic films due to their high electrical conductivity could be one of the best replacing materials for ITO, however their poor transparency makes their application as TCs limited. Here we design and fabricate a new polymeric composite coating which enhances the transparency of the thin metal film up to 100% relative to the initial value while having a high electrical conductivity of typical metals. Therefore our proposed device has a great potential to be used as new transparent conductor.

Transparent conductive Ga-doped ZnO films fabricated by MOCVD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Behrends, Arne; Wagner, Alexander; Al-Suleiman, Mohamed Aid Mansur; Waag, Andreas; Bakin, Andrey [Institute of Semiconductor Technology, University of Technology Braunschweig, Hans-Sommer-Str. 66, 38106 Braunschweig (Germany); Lugauer, Hans-Juergen; Strassburg, Martin; Walter, Robert; Weimar, Andreas [OSRAM Opto Semiconductors GmbH, Leibnizstr. 4, 93055 Regensburg (Germany)

2012-04-15

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) are used for a variety of different applications, e.g., in solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Mostly, sputtering is used, which often results in a degradation of the underlying semiconductor material. In this work we report on a ''soft'' method for the fabrication of ZnO films as TCO layers by using metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at particularly low temperatures. The MOCVD approach has been studied focusing on the TCO key issues: fabrication temperature, morphology, optical, and electrical properties. Very smooth ZnO films with rms values down to 0.8 nm were fabricated at a substrate temperature of only 300 C. Ga-doping is well controllable even for high carrier concentrations up to 2 x 10{sup 20} cm{sup -3}, which is above the Mott-density leading to metallic-like behavior of the films. Furthermore all films show excellent optical transparency in the visible spectral range. As a consequence, our MOCVD approach is well suited for the soft fabrication of ZnO-based TCO layers. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Natively textured surface hydrogenated gallium-doped zinc oxide transparent conductive thin films with buffer layers for solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Xin-liang, E-mail: cxlruzhou@163.com; Wang, Fei; Geng, Xin-hua; Huang, Qian; Zhao, Ying; Zhang, Xiao-dan

2013-09-02

Natively textured surface hydrogenated gallium-doped zinc oxide (HGZO) thin films have been deposited via magnetron sputtering on glass substrates. These natively textured HGZO thin films exhibit rough pyramid-like textured surface, high optical transmittances in the visible and near infrared region and excellent electrical properties. The experiment results indicate that tungsten-doped indium oxide (In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:W, IWO) buffer layers can effectively improve the surface roughness and enhance the light scattering ability of HGZO thin films. The root-mean-square roughness of HGZO, IWO (10 nm)/HGZO and IWO (30 nm)/HGZO thin films are 28, 44 and 47 nm, respectively. The haze values at the wavelength of 550 nm increase from 7.0% of HGZO thin film without buffer layer to 18.37% of IWO (10 nm)/HGZO thin film. The optimized IWO (10 nm)/HGZO exhibits a high optical transmittance of 82.18% in the visible and near infrared region (λ ∼ 400–1100 nm) and excellent electrical properties with a relatively low sheet resistance of 3.6 Ω/□ and the resistivity of 6.21 × 10{sup −4} Ωcm. - Highlights: • Textured hydrogenated gallium-doped zinc oxide (HGZO) films were developed. • Tungsten-doped indium oxide (IWO) buffer layers were applied for the HGZO films. • Light-scattering ability of the HGZO films can be improved through buffer layers. • Low sheet resistance and high haze were obtained for the IWO(10 nm)/HGZO film. • The IWO/HGZO films are promising transparent conductive layers for solar cells.

Concentrator bifacial crystalline silicon solar cells with multi-wire metallization attached to TCO layers using transparent conductive polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Untila, Gennady; Chebotareva, Alla; Kost, Tatiana; Salazkin, Sergei; Shaposhnikova, Vera; Shvarts, Maxim

2017-09-01

Replacing expensive silver with inexpensive copper for the metallization of silicon wafer solar cells can lead to substantial reductions in material costs associated with cell production. A promising approach is the use of multi-wire design. This technology uses many wires in the place of busbars, and the copper wires are "soldered" during the low-temperature lamination process to the fingers (printed or plated) or to the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layer, e.g. in the case of the α-Si/c-Si heterojunction cells. Here we describe a solar cell design in which wires are attached to TCO layers using transparent conductive polymer (TCP) films. To this end, we have synthesized a number of thermoplastics, poly(arylene ether ketone) copolymers (co-PAEKs), containing phthalide in their main chain. The fraction of phthalide-containing units in the copolymers was p = 3, 5, 15, and 50 mol %. With increasing p, the peak strain temperature of the co-PAEKs rises from 205 to 290 °C and their optical band gap and refractive index increase from 3.12 to 3.15 eV and from 1.6 to 1.614, respectively. The copolymers have a negligible absorption coefficient in the wavelength range 400- 1100 nm. When exposed to an excess pressure of 1 atm or above, co-PAEK films less than 30 µm in thickness undergo a transition from a dielectric to a conductive state. The resistivity (ρC) of wire/TCP/TCO (ITO = In2O3:Sn and IFO = In2O3:F) contacts ranges from 0.37 to 1.43 mΩ cm2. The polymer with the highest phthalide content (p = 50 mol %) has the lowest ρC. The average work of adhesion per unit area determined by pulling off the wires from the polymer surface depends on both the phthalide content of the co-PAEKs and their reduced viscosity, ranging from 14.3 to 43.5 N/cm. The highest value was obtained for the co-PAEK with p = 50 mol %. We have fabricated low-concentration bifacial IFO/(n+pp+)Cz-Si/ITO solar cells with a wire contact grid attached to IFO and ITO using a co-PAEK film. The

Amorphous and crystalline In_2O_3-based transparent conducting films for photovoltaics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koida, Takashi

2017-01-01

We reported solar cells with reduced electrical and optical losses using hydrogen-doped In_2O_3 (In_2O_3:H) transparent conducting layers with low sheet resistance and high transparence characteristics. The transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films were prepared by solid-phase crystallization of amorphous (a-) In_2O_3:H films grown by magnetron sputtering. The polycrystalline (poly-) In_2O_3:H films exhibited electron mobilities (over 100 cm"2V"-"1 s"-"1) 2 and 3 times greater than those of conventional TCO films. This paper describes (i) the current status of the electrical properties of In_2O_3-based TCO; (ii) the structural and optoelectrical properties of the a-In_2O_3:H and poly-In_2O_3:H films, focusing on the inhomogeneity and stability characteristics of the films; and (iii) the electrical properties of bilayer TCO. The potential of these high mobility TCO films for solar cells was also described. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Limits of transparency of transparent conducting oxides

Science.gov (United States)

Peelaers, Hartwin

A fundamental understanding of the factors that limit transparency in transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) is essential for further progress in materials and applications. These materials have a sufficiently large band gap, so that direct optical transitions do not lead to absorption of light within the visible spectrum. Since the presence of free carriers is essential for conductivity and thus for device applications, this introduces the possibility of additional absorption processes. In particular, indirect processes are possible, and these will constitute a fundamental limit of the material. The Drude theory is widely used to describe free-carrier absorption, but it is phenomenological in nature and tends to work poorly at shorter wavelengths, where band-structure effects are important. We will present calculations of phonon- and defect-assisted free-carrier absorption in a TCO completely from first principles. We will focus in detail on SnO2, but the methodology is general and we will also compare the results obtained for other TCO materials such as In2O3. These calculations provide not just quantitative results but also deeper insights in the mechanisms that govern absorption processes, which is essential for engineering improved materials to be used in more efficient devices. This work was performed in collaboration with E. Kioupakis and C.G. Van de Walle and was supported by ARO and NSF.

Transparent conductive oxides for thin-film silicon solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Löffler, J.

2005-01-01

This thesis describes research on thin-film silicon solar cells with focus on the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) for such devices. In addition to the formation of a transparent and electrically conductive front electrode for the solar cell allowing photocurrent collection with low ohmic losses,

Cu mesh for flexible transparent conductive electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Won-Kyung; Lee, Seunghun; Hee Lee, Duck; Hee Park, In; Seong Bae, Jong; Woo Lee, Tae; Kim, Ji-Young; Hun Park, Ji; Chan Cho, Yong; Ryong Cho, Chae; Jeong, Se-Young

2015-06-03

Copper electrodes with a micromesh/nanomesh structure were fabricated on a polyimide substrate using UV lithography and wet etching to produce flexible transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs). Well-defined mesh electrodes were realized through the use of high-quality Cu thin films. The films were fabricated using radio-frequency (RF) sputtering with a single-crystal Cu target--a simple but innovative approach that overcame the low oxidation resistance of ordinary Cu. Hybrid Cu mesh electrodes were fabricated by adding a capping layer of either ZnO or Al-doped ZnO. The sheet resistance and the transmittance of the electrode with an Al-doped ZnO capping layer were 6.197 ohm/sq and 90.657%, respectively, and the figure of merit was 60.502 × 10(-3)/ohm, which remained relatively unchanged after thermal annealing at 200 °C and 1,000 cycles of bending. This fabrication technique enables the mass production of large-area flexible TCEs, and the stability and high performance of Cu mesh hybrid electrodes in harsh environments suggests they have strong potential for application in smart displays and solar cells.

Transparent Conducting Film Fabricated by Metal Mesh Method with Ag and Cu@Ag Mixture Nanoparticle Pastes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyun Min Nam

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Transparent conducting electrode film is highly desirable for application in touch screen panels (TSPs, flexible and wearable displays, sensors, and actuators. A sputtered film of indium tin oxide (ITO shows high transmittance (90% at low sheet resistance (50 Ω/cm2. However, ITO films lack mechanical flexibility, especially under bending stress, and have limitation in application to large-area TSPs (over 15 inches due to the trade-off in high transmittance and low sheet resistance properties. One promising solution is to use metal mesh-type transparent conducting film, especially for touch panel application. In this work, we investigated such inter-related issues as UV imprinting process to make a trench layer pattern, the synthesis of core-shell-type Ag and Cu@Ag composite nanoparticles and their paste formulation, the filling of Ag and Cu@Ag mixture nanoparticle paste to the trench layer, and touch panel fabrication processes.

Transparent conducting film: Effect of mechanical stretching

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

We describe in this paper a transparent conducting film (TCF). ... conducting carbon nanotube film which is crack-resistant for solar cell applications. ... CA 90095, USA; Nanocomp Technologies, Inc, 162 Pembroke Road, Concord, NH 03301 ...

Improved optoelectronics properties of ITO-based transparent conductive electrodes with the insertion of Ag/Ni under-layer

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Ahmad Hadi; Abu Bakar, Ahmad Shuhaimi; Hassan, Zainuriah

2014-10-01

ITO-based transparent conductive electrodes (TCE) with Ag/Ni thin metal under-layer were deposited on Si and glass substrates by thermal evaporator and RF magnetron sputtering system. Ceramic ITO with purity of 99.99% and In2O3:SnO2 weight ratio of 90:10 was used as a target at room temperature. Post-deposition annealing was performed on the TCE at moderate temperature of 500 °C, 600 °C and 700 °C under N2 ambient. It was observed that the structural properties, optical transmittance, electrical characteristics and surface morphology were improved significantly after the post-annealing process. Post-annealed ITO/Ag/Ni at 600 °C shows the best quality of TCE with figure-of-merit (FOM) of 1.5 × 10-2 Ω-1 and high optical transmittance of 83% at 470 nm as well as very low electrical resistivity of 4.3 × 10-5 Ω-cm. The crystalline quality and surface morphological plays an important role in determining the quality of the TCE multilayer thin films properties.

Fabrication of textured SnO2 transparent conductive films using self-assembled Sn nanospheres

Science.gov (United States)

Fukumoto, Michitaka; Nakao, Shoichiro; Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2018-06-01

We present a novel method to fabricate textured surfaces on transparent conductive SnO2 films by processing substrates through a bottom-up technique with potential for industrially scalable production. The substrate processing consists of three steps: deposition of precursor Sn films on glass substrates, formation of a self-assembled Sn nanosphere layer with reductive annealing, and conversion of Sn to SnO2 by oxidative annealing. Ta-doped SnO2 films conformally deposited on the self-assembled nanospherical SnO2 templates exhibited attractive optical and electrical properties, namely, enhanced haze values and low sheet resistances, for applications as transparent electrodes in photovoltaics.

ZnO-Based Transparent Conductive Thin Films: Doping, Performance, and Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Y.; Li, Y.; Zeng, H.

2013-01-01

ZnO-based transparent conductive thin films have attracted much attention as a promising substitute material to the currently used indium-tin-oxide thin films in transparent electrode applications. However, the detailed function of the dopants, acting on the electrical and optical properties of ZnO-based transparent conductive thin films, is not clear yet, which has limited the development and practical applications of ZnO transparent conductive thin films. Growth conditions such as substrate type, growth temperature, and ambient atmosphere all play important roles in structural, electrical, and optical properties of films. This paper takes a panoramic view on properties of ZnO thin films and reviews the very recent works on new, efficient, low-temperature, and high-speed deposition technologies. In addition, we highlighted the methods of producing ZnO-based transparent conductive film on flexible substrate, one of the most promising and rapidly emerging research areas. As optimum-processing-parameter conditions are being obtained and their influencing mechanism is becoming clear, we can see that there will be a promising future for ZnO-based transparent conductive films.

Direct growth of transparent conducting Nb-doped anatase TiO2 polycrystalline films on glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Naoomi; Kasai, Junpei; Hitosugi, Taro; Hoang, Ngoc Lam Huong; Nakao, Shoichiro; Hirose, Yasushi; Shimada, Toshihiro; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2009-01-01

This paper proposes a novel sputter-based method for the direct growth of transparent conducting Ti 1-x Nb x O 2 (TNO) polycrystalline films on glass, without the need for any postdeposition treatments, by the use of an initial seed-layer. Anatase TNO epitaxial films grown on LaAlO 3 (100) substrates under a reducing atmosphere exhibited a low resistivity (ρ) of (3-6)x10 -4 Ω cm. On glass, however, highly resistive rutile phase polycrystalline films (ρ∼100 Ω cm) formed preferentially under the same conditions. These results suggest that epitaxial stabilization of the oxygen-deficient anatase phase occurs on lattice-matched substrates. To produce a similar effect on a glass surface, we deposited a seed-layer of anatase TNO with excellent crystallinity under an increased oxygen atmosphere. As a result, anatase phase TNO polycrystalline films could be grown even under heavily reducing atmospheres. An optimized film exhibited ρ=1.1x10 -3 Ω cm and optical absorption lower than 10% in the visible region. This ρ value is more than one order of magnitude lower than values reported for directly deposited TNO polycrystalline films. This indicates that the seed-layer method has considerable potential for producing transparent conducting TNO polycrystalline films on glass.

Influence of growth temperature of transparent conducting oxide layer on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin-film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Dae-Hyung; Chung, Yong-Duck; Lee, Kyu-Seok; Park, Nae-Man; Kim, Kyung-Hyun; Choi, Hae-Won; Kim, Jeha

2012-01-01

We have studied the influence of growth temperature (T G ) in the deposition of an indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent conducting oxide layer on Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells. The ITO films were deposited on i-ZnO/glass and i-ZnO/CdS/CIGS/Mo/glass substrates using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at various T G up to 350 °C. Both the resistivity of ITO and the interface quality of CdS/CIGS strongly depend on T G . For a T G ≤ 200 °C, a reduction in the series resistance enhanced the solar cell performance, while the p–n interface of the device was found to become deteriorated severely at T G > 200 °C. CIGS solar cells with ITO deposited at T G = 200 °C showed the best performance in terms of efficiency.

Transparent conductive ITO/Cu/ITO films prepared on flexible substrates at room temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding Xingwei; Yan Jinliang; Li Ting; Zhang Liying

2012-01-01

Transparent conductive ITO/Cu/ITO films were deposited on PET substrates by magnetron sputtering using three cathodes at room temperature. Effects of the SiO 2 buffer layer and thickness of Cu interlayer on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ITO/Cu/ITO films were investigated. The optical transmittance was affected slightly by SiO 2 buffer layer, but the electrical properties of ITO/Cu/ITO films were improved. The transmittance and resistivity of the SiO 2 /ITO/Cu/ITO films decrease as the Cu layer thickness increases. The ITO/Cu/ITO film with 5 nm Cu interlayer deposited on the 40 nm thick SiO 2 buffer layer exhibits the sheet resistance of 143 Ω/sq and transmittance of 65% at 550 nm wavelength. The optical and electrical properties of the ITO/Cu/ITO films were mainly dependent on the Cu layer.

Transparent conductive ITO/Cu/ITO films prepared on flexible substrates at room temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Xingwei; Yan, Jinliang; Li, Ting; Zhang, Liying

2012-01-01

Transparent conductive ITO/Cu/ITO films were deposited on PET substrates by magnetron sputtering using three cathodes at room temperature. Effects of the SiO2 buffer layer and thickness of Cu interlayer on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ITO/Cu/ITO films were investigated. The optical transmittance was affected slightly by SiO2 buffer layer, but the electrical properties of ITO/Cu/ITO films were improved. The transmittance and resistivity of the SiO2/ITO/Cu/ITO films decrease as the Cu layer thickness increases. The ITO/Cu/ITO film with 5 nm Cu interlayer deposited on the 40 nm thick SiO2 buffer layer exhibits the sheet resistance of 143 Ω/sq and transmittance of 65% at 550 nm wavelength. The optical and electrical properties of the ITO/Cu/ITO films were mainly dependent on the Cu layer.

High mobility In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H transparent conductive oxides prepared by atomic layer deposition and solid phase crystallization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Macco, B.; Wu, Y.; Vanhemel, D. [Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands); Kessels, W.M.M. [Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands); Solliance Solar Research, Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2014-12-01

The preparation of high-quality In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H, as transparent conductive oxide (TCO), is demonstrated at low temperatures. Amorphous In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H films were deposited by atomic layer deposition at 100 C, after which they underwent solid phase crystallization by a short anneal at 200 C. TEM analysis has shown that this approach can yield films with a lateral grain size of a few hundred nm, resulting in electron mobility values as high as 138 cm{sup 2}/V s at a device-relevant carrier density of 1.8 x 10{sup 20} cm{sup -3}. Due to the extremely high electron mobility, the crystallized films simultaneously exhibit a very low resistivity (0.27 mΩ cm) and a negligible free carrier absorption. In conjunction with the low temperature processing, this renders these films ideal candidates for front TCO layers in for example silicon heterojunction solar cells and other sensitive optoelectronic applications. (copyright 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Transparent conducting polymer electrolyte by addition of lithium to the molecular complex chitosane-poly(aminopropyl siloxane)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuentes, S.; Retuert, P.J.; Gonzalez, Guillermo

2003-06-30

Transparent lithium-ion conducting films were prepared by adding lithium perchlorate to a mixture of chitosane (CHI) and poly(aminopropylsiloxane) (pAPS) in a molar ratio 0.6:1 by sol-gel methods. The morphological and molecular properties, determined by scanning electron microscopy and FT-IR, respectively, depend on the lithium salt concentration. The same techniques were also used for performing a 'titration' of the capacity of the film for incorporating lithium salt. Results show that about 0.8 mol lithium salt per mol chitosane can be added before the product losses the transparence and molecular compatibility characteristic of the pristine CHI/pAPS polymer complex. When lithium salt addition reaches the tolerance limit, anisotropically oriented patterns are observed in the hybrid films. Both transparence and ionic conductivity of the product appear to be related to the layered nature of formed nanocomposites. The properties of obtained films may be furthermore rationalized considering the chemical functionality and the Lewis donor-acceptor affinity of the components.

High performance diamond-like carbon layers obtained by pulsed laser deposition for conductive electrode applications

Science.gov (United States)

Stock, F.; Antoni, F.; Le Normand, F.; Muller, D.; Abdesselam, M.; Boubiche, N.; Komissarov, I.

2017-09-01

For the future, one of the biggest challenge faced to the technologies of flat panel display and various optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices is to find an alternative to the use of transparent conducting oxides like ITO. In this new approach, the objective is to grow high conductive thin-layer graphene (TLG) on the top of diamond-like carbon (DLC) layers presenting high performance. DLC prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) have attracted special interest due to a unique combination of their properties, close to those of monocrystalline diamond, like its transparency, hardness and chemical inertia, very low roughness, hydrogen-free and thus high thermal stability up to 1000 K. In our future work, we plane to explore the synthesis of conductive TLG on top of insulating DLC thin films. The feasibility and obtained performances of the multi-layered structure will be explored in great details in the short future to develop an alternative to ITO with comparable performance (conductivity of transparency). To select the best DLC candidate for this purpose, we focus this work on the physicochemical properties of the DLC thin films deposited by PLD from a pure graphite target at two wavelengths (193 and 248 nm) at various laser fluences. A surface graphenization process, as well as the required efficiency of the complete structure (TLG/DLC) will clearly be related to the DLC properties, especially to the initial sp3/sp2 hybridization ratio. Thus, an exhaustive description of the physicochemical properties of the DLC layers is a fundamental step in the research of comparable performance to ITO.

High Transparent and Conductive TiO2/Ag/TiO2 Multilayer Electrode Films Deposited on Sapphire Substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Loka, Chadrasekhar; Moon, Sung Whan; Choi, YiSik; Lee, Kee-Sun

2018-03-01

Transparent conducting oxides attract intense interests due to its diverse industrial applications. In this study, we report sapphire substrate-based TiO2/Ag/TiO2 (TAT) multilayer structure of indium-free transparent conductive multilayer coatings. The TAT thin films were deposited at room temperature on sapphire substrates and a rigorous analysis has been presented on the electrical and optical properties of the films as a function of Ag thickness. The optical and electrical properties were mainly controlled by the Ag mid-layer thickness of the TAT tri-layer. The TAT films showed high luminous transmittance 84% at 550 nm along with noteworthy low electrical resistance 3.65 × 10-5 Ω-cm and sheet resistance of 3.77 Ω/square, which is better are than those of amorphous ITO films and any sapphire-based dielectric/metal/dielectric multilayer stack. The carrier concentration of the films was increased with respect to Ag thickness. We obtained highest Hackke's figure of merit 43.97 × 10-3 Ω-1 from the TAT multilayer thin film with a 16 nm thick Ag mid-layer.

Investigation of ITO free transparent conducting polymer based electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Vikas; Sapna, Sachdev, Kanupriya

2016-05-01

The last few decades have seen a significant improvement in organic semiconductor technology related to solar cell, light emitting diode and display panels. The material and structure of the transparent electrode is one of the major concerns for superior performance of devices such as OPV, OLED, touch screen and LCD display. Commonly used ITO is now restricted due to scarcity of indium, its poor mechanical properties and rigidity, and mismatch of energy levels with the active layer. Nowadays DMD (dielectric-metal-dielectric) structure is one of the prominent candidates as alternatives to ITO based electrode. We have used solution based spin coated polymer layer as the dielectric layer with silver thin film embedded in between to make a polymer-metal-polymer (PMP) structure for TCE applications. The PMP structure shows low resistivity (2.3 x 10-4Ω-cm), high carrier concentration (2.9 x 1021 cm-3) and moderate transparency. The multilayer PMP structure is characterized with XRD, AFM and Hall measurement to prove its suitability for opto-electronic device applications.

Investigation of ITO free transparent conducting polymer based electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Vikas; Sapna,; Sachdev, Kanupriya

2016-01-01

The last few decades have seen a significant improvement in organic semiconductor technology related to solar cell, light emitting diode and display panels. The material and structure of the transparent electrode is one of the major concerns for superior performance of devices such as OPV, OLED, touch screen and LCD display. Commonly used ITO is now restricted due to scarcity of indium, its poor mechanical properties and rigidity, and mismatch of energy levels with the active layer. Nowadays DMD (dielectric-metal-dielectric) structure is one of the prominent candidates as alternatives to ITO based electrode. We have used solution based spin coated polymer layer as the dielectric layer with silver thin film embedded in between to make a polymer-metal-polymer (PMP) structure for TCE applications. The PMP structure shows low resistivity (2.3 x 10"−"4Ω-cm), high carrier concentration (2.9 x 10"2"1 cm"−"3) and moderate transparency. The multilayer PMP structure is characterized with XRD, AFM and Hall measurement to prove its suitability for opto-electronic device applications.

Investigation of ITO free transparent conducting polymer based electrode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, Vikas; Sapna,; Sachdev, Kanupriya [Department of Physics, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur, JLN Marg, Jaipur-India-302017 (India)

2016-05-23

The last few decades have seen a significant improvement in organic semiconductor technology related to solar cell, light emitting diode and display panels. The material and structure of the transparent electrode is one of the major concerns for superior performance of devices such as OPV, OLED, touch screen and LCD display. Commonly used ITO is now restricted due to scarcity of indium, its poor mechanical properties and rigidity, and mismatch of energy levels with the active layer. Nowadays DMD (dielectric-metal-dielectric) structure is one of the prominent candidates as alternatives to ITO based electrode. We have used solution based spin coated polymer layer as the dielectric layer with silver thin film embedded in between to make a polymer-metal-polymer (PMP) structure for TCE applications. The PMP structure shows low resistivity (2.3 x 10{sup −4}Ω-cm), high carrier concentration (2.9 x 10{sup 21} cm{sup −3}) and moderate transparency. The multilayer PMP structure is characterized with XRD, AFM and Hall measurement to prove its suitability for opto-electronic device applications.

Transparent conducting oxide clad limited area epitaxy semipolar III-nitride laser diodes

KAUST Repository

Myzaferi, A.

2016-08-11

The bottom cladding design of semipolar III-nitride laser diodes is limited by stress relaxation via misfit dislocations that form via the glide of pre-existing threading dislocations (TDs), whereas the top cladding is limited by the growth time and temperature of the p-type layers. These design limitations have individually been addressed by using limited area epitaxy (LAE) to block TD glide in n-type AlGaN bottom cladding layers and by using transparent conducting oxide (TCO) top cladding layers to reduce the growth time and temperature of the p-type layers. In addition, a TCO-based top cladding should have significantly lower resistivity than a conventional p-type (Al)GaN top cladding. In this work, LAE and indium-tin-oxide cladding layers are used simultaneously in a (202⎯⎯1) III-nitride laser structure. Lasing was achieved at 446 nm with a threshold current density of 8.5 kA/cm2 and a threshold voltage of 8.4 V.

Thin film electronic devices with conductive and transparent gas and moisture permeation barriers

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Lin Jay

2013-12-17

A thin film stack (100, 200) is provided for use in electronic devices such as photovoltaic devices. The stack (100, 200) may be integrated with a substrate (110) such as a light transmitting/transmissive layer. A electrical conductor layer (120, 220) is formed on a surface of the substrate (110) or device layer such as a transparent conducting (TC) material layer (120,220) with pin holes or defects (224) caused by manufacturing. The stack (100) includes a thin film (130, 230) of metal that acts as a barrier for environmental contaminants (226, 228). The metal thin film (130,230) is deposited on the conductor layer (120, 220) and formed from a self-healing metal such as a metal that forms self-terminating oxides. A permeation plug or block (236) is formed in or adjacent to the thin film (130, 230) of metal at or proximate to the pin holes (224) to block further permeation of contaminants through the pin holes (224).

Effect of Hydrogen Post-Annealing on Transparent Conductive ITO/Ga2O3 Bi-Layer Films for Deep Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyeong Heon; Kim, Su Jin; Park, Sang Young; Kim, Tae Geun

2015-10-01

The effect of hydrogen post-annealing on the electrical and optical properties of ITO/Ga2O bi-layer films, deposited by RF magnetron sputtering, is investigated for potential applications to transparent conductive electrodes of ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes. Three samples--an as-deposited sample and two samples post-annealed in N2 gas and N2-H2 gas mixture--were prepared and annealed at different temperatures ranging from 100 °C to 500 °C for comparison. Among these samples, the sample annealed at 300 °C in a mixture of N2 and H2 gases shows the lowest sheet resistance of 301.3 Ω/square and a high UV transmittance of 87.1% at 300 nm.

Multi-layered hierarchical nanostructures for transparent monolithic dye-sensitized solar cell architectures

Science.gov (United States)

Passoni, Luca; Fumagalli, Francesco; Perego, Andrea; Bellani, Sebastiano; Mazzolini, Piero; Di Fonzo, Fabio

2017-06-01

Monolithic dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) architectures hold great potential for building-integrated photovoltaics applications. They indeed benefit from lower weight and manufacturing costs as they avoid the use of a transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-coated glass counter electrode. In this work, a transparent monolithic DSC comprising a hierarchical 1D nanostructure stack is fabricated by physical vapor deposition techniques. The proof of concept device comprises hyperbranched TiO2 nanostructures, sensitized by the prototypical N719, as photoanode, a hierarchical nanoporous Al2O3 spacer, and a microporous indium tin oxide (ITO) top electrode. An overall 3.12% power conversion efficiency with 60% transmittance outside the dye absorption spectral window is demonstrated. The introduction of a porous TCO layer allows an efficient trade-off between transparency and power conversion. The porous ITO exhibits submicrometer voids and supports annealing temperatures above 400 °C without compromising its optoelectronical properties. After thermal annealing at 500 °C, the resistivity, mobility, and carrier concentration of the 800 nm-thick porous ITO layer are found to be respectively 2.3 × 10-3 Ω cm-1, 11 cm2 V-1 s-1, and 1.62 × 1020 cm-3, resulting in a series resistance in the complete device architecture of 45 Ω. Electrochemical impedance and intensity-modulated photocurrent/photovoltage spectroscopy give insight into the electronic charge dynamic within the hierarchical monolithic DSCs, paving the way for potential device architecture improvements.

Ultra-Thin Optically Transparent Carbon Electrodes Produced from Layers of Adsorbed Proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Alharthi, Sarah A.; Benavidez, Tomas E.; Garcia, Carlos D.

2013-01-01

This work describes a simple, versatile, and inexpensive procedure to prepare optically transparent carbon electrodes, using proteins as precursors. Upon adsorption, the protein-coated substrates were pyrolyzed under reductive conditions (5% H2) to form ultra-thin, conductive electrodes. Because proteins spontaneously adsorb to interfaces forming uniform layers, the proposed method does not require a precise control of the preparation conditions, specialized instrumentation, or expensive precursors. The resulting electrodes were characterized by a combination of electrochemical, optical, and spectroscopic means. As a proof-of-concept, the optically-transparent electrodes were also used as substrate for the development of an electrochemical glucose biosensor. The proposed films represent a convenient alternative to more sophisticated, and less available, carbon-based nanomaterials. Furthermore, these films could be formed on a variety of substrates, without classical limitations of size or shape. PMID:23421732

Ultrathin and stable Nickel films as transparent conductive electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grilli, M.L., E-mail: marialuisa.grilli@enea.it [ENEA, Materials Technology Unit, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome (Italy); Di Sarcina, I. [ENEA, Materials Technology Unit, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome (Italy); Bossi, S. [ENEA, Robotics Laboratory, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome (Italy); The Biorobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025 Pontedera, Pisa (Italy); Rinaldi, A.; Pilloni, L.; Piegari, A. [ENEA, Materials Technology Unit, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome (Italy)

2015-11-02

Ultrathin stable transparent conductive nickel films were deposited on quartz substrates by radio frequency sputtering at room temperature. Such films showed visible transmittance up to 80% and conductivity up to 1.8 × 10{sup 4} S/cm, further increased to 2,3 × 10{sup 5} S/cm by incorporation of a micrometric silver grid. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy revealed quite compact, smooth and low surface roughness films. Excellent film stability, ease, fast and low cost process fabrication make these films highly competitive compared to indium tin oxide alternative transparent conductors. Films were characterized regarding their morphological, optical and electrical properties. - Highlights: • Indium-free transparent conductors are proposed. • Ultrathin Ni films are fabricated with a very fast process at room temperature. • Films have conductivity values up to 1.8 × 10{sup 4} S/cm. • Ni ultrathin films are good candidates for UV and NIR optoelectronic applications.

Amorphous and crystalline In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-based transparent conducting films for photovoltaics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koida, Takashi [Research Center for Photovoltaics, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba (Japan)

2017-02-15

We reported solar cells with reduced electrical and optical losses using hydrogen-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} (In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H) transparent conducting layers with low sheet resistance and high transparence characteristics. The transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films were prepared by solid-phase crystallization of amorphous (a-) In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H films grown by magnetron sputtering. The polycrystalline (poly-) In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H films exhibited electron mobilities (over 100 cm{sup 2}V{sup -1} s{sup -1}) 2 and 3 times greater than those of conventional TCO films. This paper describes (i) the current status of the electrical properties of In{sub 2}O{sub 3}-based TCO; (ii) the structural and optoelectrical properties of the a-In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H and poly-In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H films, focusing on the inhomogeneity and stability characteristics of the films; and (iii) the electrical properties of bilayer TCO. The potential of these high mobility TCO films for solar cells was also described. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Patterning of nanoparticulate transparent conductive ITO films using UV light irradiation and UV laser beam writing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solieman, A.; Moharram, A.H.; Aegerter, M.A.

2010-01-01

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film is one of the most widely used as transparent conductive electrodes in all forms of flat panel display (FPD) and microelectronic devices. Suspension of already crystalline conductive ITO nanoparticles fully dispersed in alcohol was spun, after modifying with coupling agent, on glass substrates. The low cost, simple and versatile traditional photolithography process without complication of the photoresist layer was used for patterning ITO films. Using of UV light irradiation through mask and direct UV laser beam writing resulted in an accurate linear, sharp edge and very smooth patterns. Irradiated ITO film showed a high transparency (∼85%) in the visible region. The electrical sheet resistance decrease with increasing time of exposure to UV light and UV laser. Only 5 min UV light irradiation is enough to decrease the electrical sheet resistance down to 5 kΩ□.

Structural, optical and electrical characterization of ITO, ITO/Ag and ITO/Ni transparent conductive electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Ahmad Hadi; Shuhaimi, Ahmad; Hassan, Zainuriah

2014-01-01

We report on the transparent conductive oxides (TCO) characteristics based on the indium tin oxides (ITO) and ITO/metal thin layer as an electrode for optoelectronics device applications. ITO, ITO/Ag and ITO/Ni were deposited on Si and glass substrate by thermal evaporator and radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Post deposition annealing was performed on the samples in air at moderate temperature of 500 °C and 600 °C. The structural, optical and electrical properties of the ITO and ITO/metal were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis spectrophotometer, Hall effect measurement system and atomic force microscope (AFM). The XRD spectrum reveals significant polycrystalline peaks of ITO (2 2 2) and Ag (1 1 1) after post annealing process. The post annealing also improves the visible light transmittance and electrical resistivity of the samples. Figure of merit (FOM) of the ITO, ITO/Ag and ITO/Ni were determined as 5.5 × 10 −3 Ω −1 , 8.4 × 10 −3 Ω −1 and 3.0 × 10 −5 Ω −1 , respectively. The results show that the post annealed ITO with Ag intermediate layer improved the efficiency of the transparent conductive electrodes (TCE) as compared to the ITO and ITO/Ni.

Transparent solar antenna of 28 GHz using transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Ali, N I; Misran, N; Mansor, M F; Jamlos, M F

2017-01-01

This paper presents the analysis of 28GHz solar patch antenna using the variations of transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film as the radiating patch. Solar antenna is basically combining the function of antenna and solar cell into one device and helps to maximize the usage of surface area. The main problem of the existing solar antenna is the radiating patch which made of nontransparent material, such as copper, shadowing the solar cell and degrades the total solar efficiency. Hence, by using the transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film as the radiating patch, this problem can be tackled. The TCO thin film used is varied to ITO, FTO, AgHT-4, and AgHT-8 along with glass as substrate. The simulation of the antenna executed by using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio software demonstrated at 28 GHz operating frequency for 5G band applications. The performance of the transparent antennas is compared with each other and also with the nontransparent patch antenna that using Rogers RT5880 as substrate, operating at the same resonance frequency and then, the material that gives the best performance is identified. (paper)

Transparent solar antenna of 28 GHz using transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, N. I. Mohd; Misran, N.; Mansor, M. F.; Jamlos, M. F.

2017-05-01

This paper presents the analysis of 28GHz solar patch antenna using the variations of transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film as the radiating patch. Solar antenna is basically combining the function of antenna and solar cell into one device and helps to maximize the usage of surface area. The main problem of the existing solar antenna is the radiating patch which made of nontransparent material, such as copper, shadowing the solar cell and degrades the total solar efficiency. Hence, by using the transparent conductive oxides (TCO) thin film as the radiating patch, this problem can be tackled. The TCO thin film used is varied to ITO, FTO, AgHT-4, and AgHT-8 along with glass as substrate. The simulation of the antenna executed by using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) Microwave Studio software demonstrated at 28 GHz operating frequency for 5G band applications. The performance of the transparent antennas is compared with each other and also with the nontransparent patch antenna that using Rogers RT5880 as substrate, operating at the same resonance frequency and then, the material that gives the best performance is identified.

An optically transparent, flexible, patterned and conductive silk biopolymer film (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Umar, Muhammad; Min, Kyungtaek; Kim, Sunghwan

2017-02-01

Transparent, flexible, and conducting films are of great interest for wearable electronics. For better biotic/abiotic interface, the films to integrate the electronics components requires the patterned surface conductors with optical transparency, smoothness, good electrical conductivity, along with the biofriendly traits of films. We focus on silk fibroin, a natural biopolymer extracted from the Bombyx mori cocoons, for this bioelectronics applications. Here we report an optically transparent, flexible, and patterned surface conductor on a silk film by burying a silver nanowires (AgNW) network below the surface of the silk film. The conducting silk film reveals high optical transparency of 80% and the excellent electronic conductivity of 15 Ω/sq, along with smooth surface. The integration of light emitting diode (LED) chip on the patterned electrodes confirms that the current can flow through the transparent and patterned electrodes on the silk film, and this result shows an application for integration of functional electronic/opto-electronic devices. Additionally, we fabricate a transparent and flexible radio frequency (RF) antenna and resistor on a silk film and apply these as a food sensor by monitoring the increasing resistance by the flow of gases from the spoiled food.

Amorphous transparent conducting oxides in context: Work function survey, trends, and facile modification

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, T. C.; Zhu, Q.; Buchholz, D. B.; Martinson, A. B.; Chang, R. P. H.; Mason, T. O.

2015-03-01

The work functions of various amorphous and crystalline transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) were measured using Kelvin probe. The films, made by pulsed laser deposition, exhibited varying work functions dependent on the composition and deposition parameters. Tin oxide showed the largest work functions of the oxides measured, while zinc oxide showed the lowest. Binary and ternary combinations of the basis TCOs showed intermediate work functions dependent on the endpoint components. Amorphous TCOs, important in OPV and other technological applications, exhibited similar work functions to their crystalline counterparts. UV/ozone treatment of TCOs temporarily increased the work function, consistent with proposed defect mechanisms associated with near-surface changes in carrier content and Fermi level. Finally, a method for facile adjustment of the work function of commercial TCOs by atomic layer deposition (ALD) capping layers was presented, illustrated by the growth of zinc oxide layers on commercial crystalline ITO films.

Highly Conductive Transparent and Flexible Electrodes Including Double-Stacked Thin Metal Films for Transparent Flexible Electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jun Hee; Kim, Do-Hong; Jeong, Eun Gyo; Lee, Tae-Woo; Lee, Myung Keun; Park, Jeong Woo; Lee, Hoseung; Choi, Kyung Cheol

2017-05-17

To keep pace with the era of transparent and deformable electronics, electrode functions should be improved. In this paper, an innovative structure is suggested to overcome the trade-off between optical and electrical properties that commonly arises with transparent electrodes. The structure of double-stacked metal films showed high conductivity (electronics are expected.

Synthesis of graphene-like transparent conductive films on dielectric substrates using a modified filtered vacuum arc system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lux, Helge, E-mail: lux@th-wildau.de; Schrader, Sigurd [Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau, Hochschulring 1, Wildau 15745 (Germany); Siemroth, Peter [Arc Precision GmbH, Schwartzkopffstraße 2, Wildau 15745 (Germany); Sgarlata, Anna [Department of Physics, University of Roma - Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, Roma 00133 (Italy); Prosposito, Paolo; Casalboni, Mauro [Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Roma - Tor Vergata, and Italian Interuniversity Consortium on Materials Science and Technology (INSTM), Research Unit Roma Tor Vergata Via del Politecnico 1, Roma 00133 (Italy); Schubert, Markus Andreas [IHP Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics, Im Technologiepark 25, Frankfurt (Oder) 15236 (Germany)

2015-05-21

Here, we present a reliable process to deposit transparent conductive films on silicon oxide, quartz, and sapphire using a solid carbon source. This layer consists of partially ordered graphene flakes with a lateral dimension of about 5 nm. The process does not require any catalytic metal and exploits a high current arc evaporation (Φ-HCA) to homogeneously deposit a layer of carbon on heated substrates. A gas atmosphere consisting of Argon or Argon/Hydrogen blend acting as a buffer influences the morphology of the growing film. scanning tunneling microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectra were used for a thorough characterization of the samples in order to optimize the growth parameters. The best carbon layers have a surface resistance of 5.7 × 10{sup 3} Ω{sub ◻} whereas the optical transparency of the coatings is 88% with an excellent homogeneity over areas of several cm{sup 2}. Such results are compatible with most semiconductor fabrication processes and make this method very promising for various industrial applications.

Silver nanowire-graphene hybrid transparent conductive electrodes for highly efficient inverted organic solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Neng; Yan, Jielin; Xie, Shuang; Kong, Yuhan; Liang, Tao; Chen, Hongzheng; Xu, Mingsheng

2017-07-01

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) and graphene are both promising candidates as a transparent conductive electrode (TCE) to replace expensive and fragile indium tin oxide (ITO) TCE. A synergistically optimized performance is expected when the advantages of AgNWs and graphene are combined. In this paper, the AgNW-graphene hybrid electrode is constructed by depositing a graphene layer on top of the network of AgNWs. Compared with the pristine AgNWs electrode, the AgNW-graphene TCE exhibits reduced sheet resistance, lower surface roughness, excellent long-term stability, and corrosion resistance in corrosive liquids. The graphene layer covering the AgNWs provides additional conduction pathways for electron transport and collection by the electrode. Benefiting from these advantages of the hybrid electrodes, we achieve a power conversion efficiency of 8.12% of inverted organic solar cells using PTB7:PC71BM as the active layer, which is compared to that of the solar cells based on standard ITO TCE but about 10% higher than that based on AgNWs TCE.

Transparent Conducting Oxides—An Up-To-Date Overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Stadler

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs are electrical conductive materials with comparably low absorption of electromagnetic waves within the visible region of the spectrum. They are usually prepared with thin film technologies and used in opto-electrical apparatus such as solar cells, displays, opto-electrical interfaces and circuitries. Here, based on a modern database-system, aspects of up-to-date material selections and applications for transparent conducting oxides are sketched, and references for detailed information are given. As n-type TCOs are of special importance for thin film solar cell production, indium-tin oxide (ITO and the reasonably priced aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al, are discussed with view on preparation, characterization and special occurrences. For completion, the recently frequently mentioned typical p-type delafossite TCOs are described as well, providing a variety of references, as a detailed discussion is not reasonable within an overview publication.

Transparent organic light-emitting diodes with different bi-directional emission colors using color-conversion capping layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jonghee, E-mail: jonghee.lee@etri.re.kr [OLED Research Center, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Daejeon 305-700 (Korea, Republic of); Institut für Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universität Dresden, George-Bähr-Straße 1, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Koh, Tae-Wook [Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Cho, Hyunsu [OLED Research Center, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Daejeon 305-700 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); Schwab, Tobias [Institut für Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universität Dresden, George-Bähr-Straße 1, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Lee, Jae-Hyun [Department School of Global Convergence Studies, Hanbat National University, San 16-1, Duckmyoung-dong, Daejeon 305-719 (Korea, Republic of); Hofmann, Simone [Institut für Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universität Dresden, George-Bähr-Straße 1, 01062 Dresden (Germany); Lee, Jeong-Ik [OLED Research Center, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Daejeon 305-700 (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Seunghyup [Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701 (Korea, Republic of); and others

2015-06-15

We report a study on transparent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with different bi-directional emission colors, enabled by color-conversion organic capping layers. Starting from a transparent blue OLED with an uncapped Ag top electrode exhibiting an average transmittance of 33.9%, a 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM)-doped tris-(8-hydroxy-quinolinato)-aluminum (Alq3) capping layer is applied to achieve color-conversion from blue to orange-red on the top side while maintaining almost unchanged device transmittance. This color-conversion capping layer does not only change the color of the top side emission, but also enhances the overall device efficiency due to the optical interaction of the capping layer with the primary blue transparent OLED. Top white emission from the transparent bi-directional OLED exhibits a correlated color temperature around 6000–7000 K, with excellent color stability as evidenced by an extremely small variation in color coordinate of Δ(x,y)=(0.002, 0.002) in the forward luminance range of 100–1000 cd m{sup −2}. At the same time, the blue emission color of bottom side is not influenced by the color conversion capping layer, which finally results in different emission colors of the two opposite sides of our transparent OLEDs. - Highlights: • We report transparent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with different bi-directional emission colors. • Transparent blue OLED with color-conversion organic capping layers (CCL) shows orange top side emission. • Top white emission exhibits a CCT around 7000 K, with excellent color stability on a driving voltage.

Transparent organic light-emitting diodes with different bi-directional emission colors using color-conversion capping layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jonghee; Koh, Tae-Wook; Cho, Hyunsu; Schwab, Tobias; Lee, Jae-Hyun; Hofmann, Simone; Lee, Jeong-Ik; Yoo, Seunghyup

2015-01-01

We report a study on transparent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with different bi-directional emission colors, enabled by color-conversion organic capping layers. Starting from a transparent blue OLED with an uncapped Ag top electrode exhibiting an average transmittance of 33.9%, a 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM)-doped tris-(8-hydroxy-quinolinato)-aluminum (Alq3) capping layer is applied to achieve color-conversion from blue to orange-red on the top side while maintaining almost unchanged device transmittance. This color-conversion capping layer does not only change the color of the top side emission, but also enhances the overall device efficiency due to the optical interaction of the capping layer with the primary blue transparent OLED. Top white emission from the transparent bi-directional OLED exhibits a correlated color temperature around 6000–7000 K, with excellent color stability as evidenced by an extremely small variation in color coordinate of Δ(x,y)=(0.002, 0.002) in the forward luminance range of 100–1000 cd m −2 . At the same time, the blue emission color of bottom side is not influenced by the color conversion capping layer, which finally results in different emission colors of the two opposite sides of our transparent OLEDs. - Highlights: • We report transparent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) with different bi-directional emission colors. • Transparent blue OLED with color-conversion organic capping layers (CCL) shows orange top side emission. • Top white emission exhibits a CCT around 7000 K, with excellent color stability on a driving voltage

Properties of transparent and conductive Al:ZnO/Au/Al:ZnO multilayers on flexible PET substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dimopoulos, T.; Bauch, M.; Wibowo, R.A.; Bansal, N.; Hamid, R.; Auer, M.; Jäger, M.; List-Kratochvil, E.J.W.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Transparent, low resistive AZO/Au/AZO layers were sputtered on PET substrates. • AZO/Au/AZO has higher figure of merit than ITO for specific Au thicknesses. • The resistance of AZO/Au/AZO is stable against repetitive substrate bending. • AZO/Au/AZO electrode performance is comparable to ITO in light emitting diodes. - Abstract: We investigate the structural, electrical and optical properties of transparent electrodes, consisting of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) and ultrathin Au layers, sputtered on polyethylene terephthalate (PET). These electrodes are relevant for optoelectronic devices and thin film photovoltaics. When deposited on AZO, Au films as thin as 3 nm form electrically conductive, meandering structures, whereas uniform Au films are obtained from a thickness of 5 nm. The sheet resistance decreases with Au thickness, reaching 7 Ω for 11 nm-thick Au. AZO/Au/AZO trilayers combine lowest resistance with highest transparency, while their resistance stability against bending fatigue is superior to the Sn-doped In 2 O 3 (ITO) electrode. The figure of merit of AZO/Au/AZO is larger than of ITO for Au thickness equal to or larger than 9 nm. To demonstrate the applicability of the AZO/Au/AZO transparent electrode, simple organic light emitting diodes were fabricated and tested in comparison to PET/ITO standard substrates

Properties of transparent and conductive Al:ZnO/Au/Al:ZnO multilayers on flexible PET substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dimopoulos, T., E-mail: theodoros.dimopoulos@ait.ac.at [AIT-Austrian Institute of Technology, Energy Department, Photovoltaic Systems, Giefinggasse 2, 1210, Vienna (Austria); Bauch, M.; Wibowo, R.A.; Bansal, N. [AIT-Austrian Institute of Technology, Energy Department, Photovoltaic Systems, Giefinggasse 2, 1210, Vienna (Austria); Hamid, R. [AIT-Austrian Institute of Technology, Mobility Department, Electric Drive Technologies, Giefinggasse 2, 1210, Vienna (Austria); Auer, M.; Jäger, M. [NanoTecCenter Weiz Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Franz-Pichler Straße 32, A-8160 Weiz (Austria); List-Kratochvil, E.J.W. [NanoTecCenter Weiz Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Franz-Pichler Straße 32, A-8160 Weiz (Austria); Institute of Solid State Physics, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 16, A-8010 Graz (Austria)

2015-10-15

Highlights: • Transparent, low resistive AZO/Au/AZO layers were sputtered on PET substrates. • AZO/Au/AZO has higher figure of merit than ITO for specific Au thicknesses. • The resistance of AZO/Au/AZO is stable against repetitive substrate bending. • AZO/Au/AZO electrode performance is comparable to ITO in light emitting diodes. - Abstract: We investigate the structural, electrical and optical properties of transparent electrodes, consisting of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) and ultrathin Au layers, sputtered on polyethylene terephthalate (PET). These electrodes are relevant for optoelectronic devices and thin film photovoltaics. When deposited on AZO, Au films as thin as 3 nm form electrically conductive, meandering structures, whereas uniform Au films are obtained from a thickness of 5 nm. The sheet resistance decreases with Au thickness, reaching 7 Ω for 11 nm-thick Au. AZO/Au/AZO trilayers combine lowest resistance with highest transparency, while their resistance stability against bending fatigue is superior to the Sn-doped In{sub 2}O{sub 3} (ITO) electrode. The figure of merit of AZO/Au/AZO is larger than of ITO for Au thickness equal to or larger than 9 nm. To demonstrate the applicability of the AZO/Au/AZO transparent electrode, simple organic light emitting diodes were fabricated and tested in comparison to PET/ITO standard substrates.

Interfacial layers and semi-transparent electrodes for large area flexible organic photovoltaics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Patil, Bhushan Ramesh

the exciton recombination and charge carrier losses in the devices. I report on the implementation of a novel exciton blocking layer of an intrinsic organic material, ‘N,N'-di-1-naphthalenyl-N,N'-diphenyl [1,1':4',1'':4'',1‴-quaterphenyl]-4,4‴-diamine (4P-NPD)’, in organic small molecule-based OPVs. Using...... this interlayer, the efficiency of OPV devices increased by approx. 24 % compared to reference devices. I also report on the use the use of electron transport layer of organic material ‘2,9-Dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bathocuproine, BCP)’ for inverted small molecule-based lab-scale and up......-scaled OPVs. The pronounced clustering of the BCP layer lead to increasing discrepancies in the device performance with the increase in the device size, which disqualifies it for use of in the inverted large area OPVs. The second section deals with up-scaling of highly conductive semi-transparent electrodes...

Roll-offset printed transparent conducting electrode for organic solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Inyoung; Kwak, Sun-Woo; Ju, Yeonkyeong; Park, Gun-Young; Lee, Taik-Min; Jang, Yunseok; Choi, Young-Man; Kang, Dongwoo

2015-01-01

Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) were developed through the roll-offset printing of Ag grid mesh patterns for the application of all-solution processed organic solar cells (OSCs). Due to the remarkable printability of roll-offset printing, the printed TCEs did not show the step coverage problem of subsequent thin layers, which was a chronic problem in other printing techniques. The control of ink cohesion was verified as a critical factor for the high printing quality, which was optimized by adding a polyurethane diol of 2 wt.%. The tensile strength of optimized Ag ink was 322 mN, which led to the clear patterning of Ag nanoparticles. The printed TCEs with different mesh densities of the Ag grid were designed to have a similar property of indium tin oxide (ITO). The measured sheet resistance was 13 Ω/□, and optical transmittance was 86%, including the glass substrate, which was found to be independent of wavelength in the visible spectrum, in contrast with the optical transmittance of ITO. To evaluate the TCE performance as bottom electrodes, all-solution processed OSCs were fabricated on top of the TCEs. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the OSCs increased with the increments of the mesh density due to the distinctive increase of the short circuit current density (J sc ), notwithstanding the similar transmittance and sheet resistance of the TCEs. In comparison with ITO, a higher PCE of OSCs was obtained because the printed TCEs with a high mesh density were able to facilitate effective current collection, leading to a significant increase of J sc . - Highlights: • Roll-offset printing provided a remarkable printability of Ag nano-ink. • Control of ink cohesion played a critical role on the patterning of Ag nano-ink. • Printed Ag mesh was used as a transparent conducting electrode. • Transparency and sheet resistance of printed Ag mesh can be designed simply. • Printed Ag mesh was effective for the current collection of organic solar

Roll-offset printed transparent conducting electrode for organic solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Inyoung, E-mail: ikim@kimm.re.kr; Kwak, Sun-Woo; Ju, Yeonkyeong; Park, Gun-Young; Lee, Taik-Min; Jang, Yunseok; Choi, Young-Man; Kang, Dongwoo

2015-04-01

Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) were developed through the roll-offset printing of Ag grid mesh patterns for the application of all-solution processed organic solar cells (OSCs). Due to the remarkable printability of roll-offset printing, the printed TCEs did not show the step coverage problem of subsequent thin layers, which was a chronic problem in other printing techniques. The control of ink cohesion was verified as a critical factor for the high printing quality, which was optimized by adding a polyurethane diol of 2 wt.%. The tensile strength of optimized Ag ink was 322 mN, which led to the clear patterning of Ag nanoparticles. The printed TCEs with different mesh densities of the Ag grid were designed to have a similar property of indium tin oxide (ITO). The measured sheet resistance was 13 Ω/□, and optical transmittance was 86%, including the glass substrate, which was found to be independent of wavelength in the visible spectrum, in contrast with the optical transmittance of ITO. To evaluate the TCE performance as bottom electrodes, all-solution processed OSCs were fabricated on top of the TCEs. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the OSCs increased with the increments of the mesh density due to the distinctive increase of the short circuit current density (J{sub sc}), notwithstanding the similar transmittance and sheet resistance of the TCEs. In comparison with ITO, a higher PCE of OSCs was obtained because the printed TCEs with a high mesh density were able to facilitate effective current collection, leading to a significant increase of J{sub sc}. - Highlights: • Roll-offset printing provided a remarkable printability of Ag nano-ink. • Control of ink cohesion played a critical role on the patterning of Ag nano-ink. • Printed Ag mesh was used as a transparent conducting electrode. • Transparency and sheet resistance of printed Ag mesh can be designed simply. • Printed Ag mesh was effective for the current collection of organic

Structural, optical and electrical characterization of ITO, ITO/Ag and ITO/Ni transparent conductive electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ali, Ahmad Hadi, E-mail: ahadi@uthm.edu.my [Nano-Optoelectronics Research and Technology Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang (Malaysia); Science Department, Faculty of Science, Technology and Human Development, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Johor (Malaysia); Shuhaimi, Ahmad [Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Hassan, Zainuriah [Nano-Optoelectronics Research and Technology Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang (Malaysia)

2014-01-01

We report on the transparent conductive oxides (TCO) characteristics based on the indium tin oxides (ITO) and ITO/metal thin layer as an electrode for optoelectronics device applications. ITO, ITO/Ag and ITO/Ni were deposited on Si and glass substrate by thermal evaporator and radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Post deposition annealing was performed on the samples in air at moderate temperature of 500 °C and 600 °C. The structural, optical and electrical properties of the ITO and ITO/metal were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–Vis spectrophotometer, Hall effect measurement system and atomic force microscope (AFM). The XRD spectrum reveals significant polycrystalline peaks of ITO (2 2 2) and Ag (1 1 1) after post annealing process. The post annealing also improves the visible light transmittance and electrical resistivity of the samples. Figure of merit (FOM) of the ITO, ITO/Ag and ITO/Ni were determined as 5.5 × 10{sup −3} Ω{sup −1}, 8.4 × 10{sup −3} Ω{sup −1} and 3.0 × 10{sup −5} Ω{sup −1}, respectively. The results show that the post annealed ITO with Ag intermediate layer improved the efficiency of the transparent conductive electrodes (TCE) as compared to the ITO and ITO/Ni.

Highly Transparent and Conductive Metallized Nanofibers by Electrospinning and Electroplating

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Sam S.; Yarin, Alexander L.

2017-11-01

Transparent conducting films (TCFs) and transparent heaters (THs) are of interest for a wide variety of applications, from displays to window defrosters. Here, we demonstrate production of highly flexible, conducting, and transparent copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), platinum (Pt), and silver (Ag) nanofibers suitable for use not only in TCFs and THs but also in some other engineering applications. The merging of fibers at their intersections (i.e. self-junctioning) minimizes contact resistance in these films. These metallized nanofibers exhibited a remarkably low sheet resistance at a high optical transmittance. This low sheet resistance allows them to serve as low-voltage heaters, achieving a high heating temperature at a relatively low applied voltage. These nanofibers are free-standing, flexible, stretchable, and their mechanical reliability was confirmed through various mechanical endurance tests.

Growth of ZnO layers for transparent and flexible electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mofor, A.C.; Bakin, A.S.; Postels, B.; Suleiman, M.; Elshaer, A.; Waag, A.

2008-01-01

We have deposited and characterised ZnO on flexible and transparent plastic polymer. We employed a specially designed vapour phase growth system with elemental sources for zinc and oxygen and deposited thin ZnO films at temperatures below 400 deg. C. Basic photoluminescence characterisation confirms ZnO. Ohmic contacts were fabricated on these layers and the layers exhibit significantly high electron concentration with carrier mobility μ of up to 10.78 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . Furthermore, we show how these layers can be processed with conventional device processing techniques

Growth of ZnO layers for transparent and flexible electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mofor, A.C.; Bakin, A.S.; Postels, B.; Suleiman, M.; Elshaer, A.; Waag, A. [Institute of Semiconductor Technology, Technical University Braunschweig, Hans-Sommer-Str. 66, D-38106 Braunschweig (Germany)

2008-02-15

We have deposited and characterised ZnO on flexible and transparent plastic polymer. We employed a specially designed vapour phase growth system with elemental sources for zinc and oxygen and deposited thin ZnO films at temperatures below 400 deg. C. Basic photoluminescence characterisation confirms ZnO. Ohmic contacts were fabricated on these layers and the layers exhibit significantly high electron concentration with carrier mobility {mu} of up to 10.78 cm{sup 2} V{sup -1} s{sup -1}. Furthermore, we show how these layers can be processed with conventional device processing techniques.

Transparent and conductive paper from nanocellulose fibers

KAUST Repository

Hu, Liangbing

2013-01-01

Here we report on a novel substrate, nanopaper, made of cellulose nanofibrils, an earth abundant material. Compared with regular paper substrates, nanopaper shows superior optical properties. We have carried out the first study on the optical properties of nanopaper substrates. Since the size of the nanofibrils is much less than the wavelength of visible light, nanopaper is highly transparent with large light scattering in the forward direction. Successful depositions of transparent and conductive materials including tin-doped indium oxide, carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires have been achieved on nanopaper substrates, opening up a wide range of applications in optoelectronics such as displays, touch screens and interactive paper. We have also successfully demonstrated an organic solar cell on the novel substrate. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013.

Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition of transparent conductive oxides

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Illiberi, A.; Scherpenborg, R.; Poodt, P.; Roozeboom, F.

2013-01-01

Undoped and indium doped ZnO films have been grown by Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition at atmospheric pressure. The electrical properties of ZnO films are controlled by varying the indium content in the range from 0 to 15 %. A minimum resistivity value of 3 mΩ•cm is measured in 180 nm thick films for

Transparent Conducting Nb-Doped TiO2 Electrodes Activated by Laser Annealing for Inexpensive Flexible Organic Solar Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jung-Hsiang; Lin, Chia-Chi; Lin, Yi-Chang

2012-01-01

A KrF excimer laser (λ= 248 nm) has been adopted for annealing cost-effective Nb-doped TiO2 (NTO) films. Sputtered NTO layers were annealed on SiO2-coated flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrates. This local laser annealing technique is very useful for the formation of anatase NTO electrodes used in flexible organic solar cells (OSCs). An amorphous NTO film with a high resistivity and a low transparency was transformed significantly into a conductive and transparent anatase NTO electrode by laser irradiation. The 210 nm anatase NTO film shows a sheet resistance of 50 Ω and an average optical transmittance of 83.5% in the wavelength range from 450 to 600 nm after annealing at 0.25 J/cm2. The activation of Nb dopants and the formation of the anatase phase contribute to the high conductivity of the laser-annealed NTO electrode. Nb activation causes an increase in the optical band gap due to the Burstein-Moss effect. The electrical properties are in agreement with the material characteristics determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The irradiation energy for the NTO electrode also affects the performance of the organic solar cell. The laser annealing technique provides good properties of the anatase NTO film used as a transparent electrode for flexible organic solar cells (OSCs) without damage to the PET substrate or layer delamination from the substrate.

Transparent conducting materials: Overview and recent results

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deelen, J. van; Illiberi, A.; Hovestad, A.; Barbu, I.; Klerk, L.; Buskens, P.

2012-01-01

An overview of different transparent conductors is given. In addition, atmospheric pressure CVD of ZnO resulted in conductivities below 1 mΩ cm for a temperature of 480°C, whereas at a process temperature of 200°C a value of 2 mΩ cm was obtained. Also atmospheric pressure spatial ALD was used to

ITO nanoparticles reused from ITO scraps and their applications to sputtering target for transparent conductive electrode layer

OpenAIRE

Hong, Sung-Jei; Song, Sang-Hyun; Kim, Byeong Jun; Lee, Jae-Yong; Kim, Young-Sung

2017-01-01

In this study, ITO nanoparticles (ITO-NPs) were reused from ITO target scraps to synthesize low cost ITO-NPs and to apply to make sputtering target for transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs). By controlling heat-treatment temperature as 980??C, we achieved reused ITO-NPs having Brunauer, Emmett and Teller specific surface area (BET SSA) and average particle size 8.05?m2/g and 103.8?nm, respectively. The BET SSA decreases along with increasing heat-treatment temperature. The ITO-NPs were gro...

Nanostructured transparent conducting oxide electrochromic device

Science.gov (United States)

Milliron, Delia; Tangirala, Ravisubhash; Llordes, Anna; Buonsanti, Raffaella; Garcia, Guillermo

2016-05-17

The embodiments described herein provide an electrochromic device. In an exemplary embodiment, the electrochromic device includes (1) a substrate and (2) a film supported by the substrate, where the film includes transparent conducting oxide (TCO) nanostructures. In a further embodiment, the electrochromic device further includes (a) an electrolyte, where the nanostructures are embedded in the electrolyte, resulting in an electrolyte, nanostructure mixture positioned above the substrate and (b) a counter electrode positioned above the mixture. In a further embodiment, the electrochromic device further includes a conductive coating deposited on the substrate between the substrate and the mixture. In a further embodiment, the electrochromic device further includes a second substrate positioned above the mixture.

Oxygen effect of transparent conducting amorphous Indium Zinc Tin Oxide films on Polyimide substrate for flexible electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, Yoon Duk; Lee, Chang Hun; Moon, Doo Kyung; Kim, Young Sung

2013-01-01

This paper discusses the effect of oxygen on the transparent conducting properties and mechanical durability of the amorphous indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO) films. IZTO films deposited on flexible clear polyimide (PI) substrate using pulsed direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering at room temperature under various oxygen partial pressures. All IZTO films deposited at room temperature exhibit an amorphous structure. The electrical and optical properties of the IZTO films were sensitively influenced by oxygen partial pressures. At optimized deposition condition of 3.0% oxygen partial pressure, the IZTO film shows the lowest resistivity of 6.4 × 10 −4 Ωcm, high transmittance of over 80% in the visible range, and figure of merit value of 3.6 × 10 −3 Ω −1 without any heat controls. In addition, high work function and good mechanical flexibility of amorphous IZTO films are beneficial to flexible applications. It is proven that the proper oxygen partial pressure is important parameter to enhance the transparent conducting properties of IZTO films on PI substrate deposited at room temperature. - Highlights: • Indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO) films were deposited on polyimide at room temperature. • Transparent conducting properties of IZTO were influenced with oxygen partial pressure. • The smooth surface and high work function of IZTO were beneficial to anode layer. • The mechanical reliability of IZTO shows better performance to indium tin oxide film

Carbon nanotube-graphene composite film as transparent conductive electrode for GaN-based light-emitting diodes

KAUST Repository

Kang, Chun Hong

2016-08-23

Transparent conductive electrodes (TCE) made of carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene composite for GaN-based light emitting diodes (LED) are presented. The TCE with 533-Ω/□ sheet resistance and 88% transmittance were obtained when chemical-vapor-deposition grown graphene was fused across CNT networks. With an additional 2-nm thin NiOx interlayer between the TCE and top p-GaN layer of the LED, the forward voltage was reduced to 5.12 V at 20-mA injection current. Four-fold improvement in terms of light output power was observed. The improvement can be ascribed to the enhanced lateral current spreading across the hybrid CNT-graphene TCE before injection into the p-GaN layer.

Carbon nanotube-graphene composite film as transparent conductive electrode for GaN-based light-emitting diodes

KAUST Repository

Kang, Chun Hong; Shen, Chao; M. Saheed, M. Shuaib; Mohamed, Norani Muti; Ng, Tien Khee; Ooi, Boon S.; Burhanudin, Zainal Arif

2016-01-01

Transparent conductive electrodes (TCE) made of carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene composite for GaN-based light emitting diodes (LED) are presented. The TCE with 533-Ω/□ sheet resistance and 88% transmittance were obtained when chemical-vapor-deposition grown graphene was fused across CNT networks. With an additional 2-nm thin NiOx interlayer between the TCE and top p-GaN layer of the LED, the forward voltage was reduced to 5.12 V at 20-mA injection current. Four-fold improvement in terms of light output power was observed. The improvement can be ascribed to the enhanced lateral current spreading across the hybrid CNT-graphene TCE before injection into the p-GaN layer.

Versatile and Tunable Transparent Conducting Electrodes Based on Doped Graphene

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Ahmed E.

2016-11-25

The continued growth of the optoelectronics industry and the emergence of wearable and flexible electronics will continue to place an ever increasing pressure on replacing ITO, the most widely used transparent conducting electrode (TCE). Among the various candidates, graphene shows the highest optical transmittance in addition to promising electrical transport properties. The currently available large-scale synthesis routes of graphene result in polycrystalline samples rife with grain boundaries and other defects which limit its transport properties. Chemical doping of graphene is a viable route towards increasing its conductivity and tuning its work function. However, dopants are typically present at the surface of the graphene sheet, making them highly susceptible to degradation in environmental conditions. Few-layers graphene (FLG) is a more resilient form of graphene exhibiting higher conductivity and performance stability under stretching and bending as contrasted to single-layer graphene. In addition FLG presents the advantage of being amenable bulk doping by intercalation. Herein, we explore non-covalent doping routes of CVD FLG, such as surface doping, intercalation and combination thereof, through in-depth and systematic characterization of the electrical transport properties and energy levels shifts. The intercalation of FLG with Br2 and FeCl3 is demonstrated, showing the highest improvements of the figure of merit of TCEs of any doping scheme, which results from up to a five-fold increase in conductivity while maintaining the transmittance within 3% of that for the pristine value. Importantly the intercalation yields TCEs that are air-stable, due to encapsulation of the intercalant in the bulk of FLG. Surface doping with novel solution-processed metal-organic molecular species (n- and p-type) is demonstrated with an unprecedented range of work function modulation, resulting from electron transfer and the formation of molecular surface dipoles. However

MoOx modified ZnGaO based transparent conducting oxides

Science.gov (United States)

Dutta, Titas; Gupta, P.; Bhosle, V.; Narayan, J.

2009-03-01

We report here the growth of high work function bilayered structures of thin MoOx (2.0MoOx layer, molybdenum exists in Mo4+, Mo5+, and Mo6+ oxidation states, and the ratio of (Mo4++Mo5+) to Mo6+ was determined to be ˜2:1. The bilayer films showed good optical transparency (≥80%) and low resistivity of ˜10-4 Ω cm. Different transport behavior of the MoOx/ZnGa0.05O films grown at different Ts (substrate temperature) was observed in temperature-dependent resistivity measurements. The bilayer film at higher Ts showed metallic conductivity behavior down to 113 K. Moreover, a blueshift of the absorption edge in the transmission spectrum was observed with the increase in Ts, indicating an increase in the carrier concentration. It was observed that the ZnGa0.05O films with ultrathin MoOx (˜1-2 nanometers) overlayer showed a higher work function (varying from 4.7 to 5.1 eV) as compared to the single layer ZnGa0.05O film work function (˜4.4 eV). A correlation between the surface work function and MoOx layer thickness is observed. The higher work function of the MoOx overlayer is envisaged to improve the transport of the carriers across the heterojunction in a solid state device, thus resulting an increase in device efficiency.

High-quality III-nitride films on conductive, transparent (2̅01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 using a GaN buffer layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammed, M M; Roldan, M A; Yamashita, Y; Sahonta, S-L; Ajia, I A; Iizuka, K; Kuramata, A; Humphreys, C J; Roqan, I S

2016-07-14

We demonstrate the high structural and optical properties of InxGa1-xN epilayers (0 ≤ x ≤ 23) grown on conductive and transparent (01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrates using a low-temperature GaN buffer layer rather than AlN buffer layer, which enhances the quality and stability of the crystals compared to those grown on (100)-oriented β-Ga2O3. Raman maps show that the 2″ wafer is relaxed and uniform. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the dislocation density reduces considerably (~4.8 × 10(7) cm(-2)) at the grain centers. High-resolution TEM analysis demonstrates that most dislocations emerge at an angle with respect to the c-axis, whereas dislocations of the opposite phase form a loop and annihilate each other. The dislocation behavior is due to irregular (01) β-Ga2O3 surface at the interface and distorted buffer layer, followed by relaxed GaN epilayer. Photoluminescence results confirm high optical quality and time-resolved spectroscopy shows that the recombination is governed by bound excitons. We find that a low root-mean-square average (≤1.5 nm) of InxGa1-xN epilayers can be achieved with high optical quality of InxGa1-xN epilayers. We reveal that (01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrate has a strong potential for use in large-scale high-quality vertical light emitting device design.

Interface Study of ITO/ZnO and ITO/SnO2 Complex Transparent Conductive Layers and Their Effect on CdTe Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tingliang Liu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Transparent ITO/ZnO and ITO/SnO2 complex conductive layers were prepared by DC- and RF-magnetron sputtering. Their structure and optical and electronic performances were studied by XRD, UV/Vis Spectroscopy, and four-probe technology. The interface characteristic and band offset of the ITO/ZnO, ITO/SnO2, and ITO/CdS were investigated by Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS, and the energy band diagrams have also been determined. The results show that ITO/ZnO and ITO/SnO2 films have good optical and electrical properties. The energy barrier those at the interface of ITO/ZnO and ITO/SnO2 layers are almost 0.4 and 0.44 eV, which are lower than in ITO/CdS heterojunctions (0.9 eV, which is beneficial for the transfer and collection of electrons in CdTe solar cells and reduces the minority carrier recombination at the interface, compared to CdS/ITO. The effects of their use in CdTe solar cells were studied by AMPS-1D software simulation using experiment values obtained from ZnO, ITO, and SnO2. From the simulation, we confirmed the increase of Eff, FF, Voc, and Isc by the introduction of ITO/ZnO and ITO/SnO2 layers in CdTe solar cells.

Spectral and optical performance of electrochromic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) deposited on transparent conducting oxide coated glass and polymer substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sindhu, S.; Narasimha Rao, K.; Ahuja, Sharath; Kumar, Anil; Gopal, E.S.R.

2006-01-01

Electrochromic devices utilizing conjugated polymers as electrochromic layers have gained increasing attention owing to their optical properties, fast switching times and contrast ratios. Polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT) is an excellent material from its electrochromic properties, high conductivity and high stability in the doped form. Aqueous dispersions of PEDOT were either spin coated or electro-polymerized on transparent conducting oxide coated glass and polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET) film substrates. The spectro- and opto-electrochemical studies of the films on transparent conducting oxide coated glass/PET substrates were performed. These films have application in the fabrication of electrochromic windows (smart windows). Smart window devices having excellent switching characteristics over wide range of temperature are used for glazing applications. The aerospace industry is interested in the development of visors and windows that can control glare for pilots and passengers, especially if the coatings can be made on curved surfaces and electrically conducting

Comparing the fundamental physics and device performance of transparent, conductive nanostructured networks with conventional transparent conducting oxides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnes, Teresa M.; Reese, Matthew O.; Bergeson, Jeremy D.; Larsen, Brian A.; Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; Beard, Matthew C.; Bult, Justin; Van de Lagemaat, Jao [NREL, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401 (United States)

2012-03-15

Networks made of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and metallic nanowire networks, graphene, and ultra-thin metal films have all been proposed as replacements for transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) in photovoltaic and other applications. However, only limited comparisons of nanostructured networks and TCOs are available. Several common figures of merit that are often used to compare the electrical and optical performance of the transparent contacts are evaluated here, and the merits of each method of comparison are discussed. Calculating the current loss due to absorption in the TCO is the most useful metric for evaluating new materials for use in solar cells with well-defined sheet resistance requirements and known quantum efficiencies. The 'Haacke' figure of merit, {phi}{sub H}, correlates fairly well with current loss and is a good metric for evaluating electro-optical performance for more general applications. The analyses presented here demonstrate that silver nanowire networks are much closer to achieving optimal electrical and optical properties than carbon-based networks. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

ZnO based transparent conductive oxide films with controlled type of conduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zaharescu, M., E-mail: mzaharescu@icf.ro [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Ilie Murgulescu”, Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest (Romania); Mihaiu, S., E-mail: smihaiu@icf.ro [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Ilie Murgulescu”, Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest (Romania); Toader, A. [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Ilie Murgulescu”, Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest (Romania); Atkinson, I., E-mail: irinaatkinson@yahoo.com [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Ilie Murgulescu”, Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest (Romania); Calderon-Moreno, J.; Anastasescu, M.; Nicolescu, M.; Duta, M.; Gartner, M. [Institute of Physical Chemistry “Ilie Murgulescu”, Romanian Academy, 202 Splaiul Independentei, 060021 Bucharest (Romania); Vojisavljevic, K.; Malic, B. [Institute Jožef Stefan, Ljubljana (Slovenia); Ivanov, V.A.; Zaretskaya, E.P. [State Scientific and Production Association “Scientific-Practical Materials Research Center of the National Academy of Science Belarus, P. Brovska str.19, 220072, Minsk (Belarus)

2014-11-28

The transparent conductive oxide films with controlled type of conduction are of great importance and their preparation is intensively studied. In our work, the preparation of such films based on doped ZnO was realized in order to achieve controlled type of conduction and high concentration of the charge carriers. Sol–gel method was used for films preparation and several dopants were tested (Sn, Li, Ni). Multilayer deposition was performed on several substrates: SiO{sub 2}/Si wafers, silica-soda-lime and/or silica glasses. The structural and morphological characterization of the obtained films were done by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy respectively, while spectroscopic ellipsometry and transmittance measurements were done for determination of optical properties. The selected samples with the best structural, morphological and optical properties were subjected to electrical measurement (Hall and Seebeck effect). In all studied cases, samples with good adherence and homogeneous morphology as well as monophasic wurtzite type structure were obtained. The optical constants (refractive index and extinction coefficient) were calculated from spectroscopic ellipsometry data using Cauchy model. Films with n- or p-type conduction were obtained depending on the composition, number of deposition and thermal treatment temperature. - Highlights: • Transparent conductive ZnO based thin films were prepared by the sol–gel method. • Controlled type of conduction is obtained in (Sn, Li) doped and Li-Ni co-doped ZnO films. • Hall and Seebeck measurements proved the p-type conductivity for Li-Ni co-doped ZnO films. • The p-type conductivity was maintained even after 4-months of storage. • Influence of dopant- and substrate-type on the ZnO films properties was established.

Influence of the ``second gap'' on the optical absorption of transparent conducting oxides

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Viet-Anh; Waroquiers, David; Rignanese, Gian-Marco; Hautier, Geoffroy

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are critical to many technologies (e.g., thin-film solar cells, flat-panel displays or organic light-emitting diodes). TCOs are heavily doped (n or p-type) oxides that satisfy many design criteria such as high transparency to visible light (i.e., a band gap > 3 eV), high concentration and mobility of carriers (leading to high conductivity), ... In such (highly doped) systems, optical transitions from the conduction band minimum to higher energy bands in n-type or from lower energy bands to the valence band maximum in p-type are possible and can degrade transparency. In fact, it has been claimed that a high energy (> 3eV) for any of these transitions made possible by doping, commonly referred as a high ``second gap'', is a necessary design criterion for high performance TCOs. Here, we study the influence of this second gap on the transparency of doped TCOs by using ab initio calculations within the random phase approximation (RPA) for several well-known p-type and n-type TCOs. Our work highlights how the second gap affects the transparency of doped TCOs, shining light on more accurate design criteria for high performance TCOs.

Angle-specific transparent conducting electrodes with metallic gratings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rivolta, N. X. A., E-mail: nicolas.rivolta@umons.ac.be; Maes, B. [Micro- and Nanophotonic Materials Group, Faculty of Science, University of Mons, Avenue Maistriau 19, B-7000 Mons (Belgium)

2014-08-07

Transparent conducting electrodes, which are not made from indium tin oxide, and which display a strong angular dependence are useful for various technologies. Here, we introduce a tilted silver grating that combines a large conductance with a strong and angle-specific transmittance. When the light incidence angle matches the tilt angle of the grating, transmittance is close to the maximum along a very broadband range. We explain the behavior through simulations that show in detail the plasmonic and interference effects at play.

Transparent Thin-Film Transistors Based on Sputtered Electric Double Layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Wensi; Ma, Xiaochen; Zhang, Jiawei; Song, Aimin

2017-04-20

Electric-double-layer (EDL) thin-film transistors (TFTs) have attracted much attention due to their low operation voltages. Recently, EDL TFTs gated with radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtered SiO₂ have been developed which is compatible to large-area electronics fabrication. In this work, fully transparent Indium-Gallium-Zinc-Oxide-based EDL TFTs on glass substrates have been fabricated at room temperature for the first time. A maximum transmittance of about 80% has been achieved in the visible light range. The transparent TFTs show a low operation voltage of 1.5 V due to the large EDL capacitance (0.3 µF/cm² at 20 Hz). The devices exhibit a good performance with a low subthreshold swing of 130 mV/dec and a high on-off ratio > 10⁵. Several tests have also been done to investigate the influences of light irradiation and bias stress. Our results suggest that such transistors might have potential applications in battery-powered transparent electron devices.

Silver Nanowire Transparent Conductive Films with High Uniformity Fabricated via a Dynamic Heating Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Yonggao; Chen, Chao; Jia, Dan; Li, Shuxin; Ji, Shulin; Ye, Changhui

2016-04-20

The uniformity of the sheet resistance of transparent conductive films is one of the most important quality factors for touch panel applications. However, the uniformity of silver nanowire transparent conductive films is far inferior to that of indium-doped tin oxide (ITO). Herein, we report a dynamic heating method using infrared light to achieve silver nanowire transparent conductive films with high uniformity. This method can overcome the coffee ring effect during the drying process and suppress the aggregation of silver nanowires in the film. A nonuniformity factor of the sheet resistance of the as-prepared silver nanowire transparent conductive films could be as low as 6.7% at an average sheet resistance of 35 Ω/sq and a light transmittance of 95% (at 550 nm), comparable to that of high-quality ITO film in the market. In addition, a mechanical study shows that the sheet resistance of the films has little change after 5000 bending cycles, and the film could be used in touch panels for human-machine interactive input. The highly uniform and mechanically stable silver nanowire transparent conductive films meet the requirement for many significant applications and could play a key role in the display market in a near future.

Synthesis of Oxidation-Resistant Cupronickel Nanowires for Transparent Conducting Nanowire Networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rathmall, Aaron [Duke University; Nguyen, Minh [Duke University; Wiley, Benjamin J [Duke University

2012-01-01

Nanowires of copper can be coated from liquids to create flexible, transparent conducting films that can potentially replace the dominant transparent conductor, indium tin oxide, in displays, solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and electrochromic windows. One issue with these nanowire films is that copper is prone to oxidation. It was hypothesized that the resistance to oxidation could be improved by coating copper nanowires with nickel. This work demonstrates a method for synthesizing copper nanowires with nickel shells as well as the properties of cupronickel nanowires in transparent conducting films. Time- and temperature-dependent sheet resistance measurements indicate that the sheet resistance of copper and silver nanowire films will double after 3 and 36 months at room temperature, respectively. In contrast, the sheet resistance of cupronickel nanowires containing 20 mol % nickel will double in about 400 years. Coating copper nanowires to a ratio of 2:1 Cu:Ni gave them a neutral gray color, making them more suitable for use in displays and electrochromic windows. These properties, and the fact that copper and nickel are 1000 times more abundant than indium or silver, make cupronickel nanowires a promising alternative for the sustainable, efficient production of transparent conductors.

Transparency about past, present and future conduct : Experimental evidence on the impact of competitiveness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Potters, J.J.M.; Hinloopen, J.; Normann, H-T

2009-01-01

Transparency relates to communication and information about the conduct of firms. Transparency can relate to the past, the present and the future and it can vary in format, content and reliability. In this chapter I review experimental evidence which relates to the impact of transparency on the

Liquid-phase exfoliation of chemical vapor deposition-grown single layer graphene and its application in solution-processed transparent electrodes for flexible organic light-emitting devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Chaoxing; Li, Fushan; Wu, Wei; Chen, Wei; Guo, Tailiang

2014-01-01

Efficient and low-cost methods for obtaining high performance flexible transparent electrodes based on chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown graphene are highly desirable. In this work, the graphene grown on copper foil was exfoliated into micron-size sheets through controllable ultrasonication. We developed a clean technique by blending the exfoliated single layer graphene sheets with conducting polymer to form graphene-based composite solution, which can be spin-coated on flexible substrate, forming flexible transparent conducting film with high conductivity (∼8 Ω/□), high transmittance (∼81% at 550 nm), and excellent mechanical robustness. In addition, CVD-grown-graphene-based polymer light emitting diodes with excellent bendable performances were demonstrated

High-quality III-nitride films on conductive, transparent (2̅01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 using a GaN buffer layer

KAUST Repository

Mumthaz Muhammed, Mufasila

2016-07-14

We demonstrate the high structural and optical properties of InxGa1−xN epilayers (0 ≤ x ≤ 23) grown on conductive and transparent (01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrates using a low-temperature GaN buffer layer rather than AlN buffer layer, which enhances the quality and stability of the crystals compared to those grown on (100)-oriented β-Ga2O3. Raman maps show that the 2″ wafer is relaxed and uniform. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the dislocation density reduces considerably (~4.8 × 107 cm−2) at the grain centers. High-resolution TEM analysis demonstrates that most dislocations emerge at an angle with respect to the c-axis, whereas dislocations of the opposite phase form a loop and annihilate each other. The dislocation behavior is due to irregular (01) β-Ga2O3 surface at the interface and distorted buffer layer, followed by relaxed GaN epilayer. Photoluminescence results confirm high optical quality and time-resolved spectroscopy shows that the recombination is governed by bound excitons. We find that a low root-mean-square average (≤1.5 nm) of InxGa1−xN epilayers can be achieved with high optical quality of InxGa1−xN epilayers. We reveal that (01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrate has a strong potential for use in large-scale high-quality vertical light emitting device design.

High-quality III-nitride films on conductive, transparent (2̅01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 using a GaN buffer layer

KAUST Repository

Mumthaz Muhammed, Mufasila; Roldan, M. A.; Yamashita, Y.; Sahonta, S.-L.; Ajia, Idris A.; Iizuka, K.; Kuramata, A.; Humphreys, C. J.; Roqan, Iman S.

2016-01-01

We demonstrate the high structural and optical properties of InxGa1−xN epilayers (0 ≤ x ≤ 23) grown on conductive and transparent (01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrates using a low-temperature GaN buffer layer rather than AlN buffer layer, which enhances the quality and stability of the crystals compared to those grown on (100)-oriented β-Ga2O3. Raman maps show that the 2″ wafer is relaxed and uniform. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the dislocation density reduces considerably (~4.8 × 107 cm−2) at the grain centers. High-resolution TEM analysis demonstrates that most dislocations emerge at an angle with respect to the c-axis, whereas dislocations of the opposite phase form a loop and annihilate each other. The dislocation behavior is due to irregular (01) β-Ga2O3 surface at the interface and distorted buffer layer, followed by relaxed GaN epilayer. Photoluminescence results confirm high optical quality and time-resolved spectroscopy shows that the recombination is governed by bound excitons. We find that a low root-mean-square average (≤1.5 nm) of InxGa1−xN epilayers can be achieved with high optical quality of InxGa1−xN epilayers. We reveal that (01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrate has a strong potential for use in large-scale high-quality vertical light emitting device design.

Barrier layer arrangement for conductive layers on silicon substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, L.S.; Agostinelli, J.A.

1990-01-01

This patent describes a circuit element comprised of a silicon substrate and a conductive layer located on the substrate. It is characterized in that the conductive layer consists essentially of a rare earth alkaline earth copper oxide and a barrier layer triad is interposed between the silicon substrate and the conductive layer comprised of a first triad layer located adjacent the silicon substrate consisting essentially of silica, a third triad layer remote from the silicon substrate consisting essentially of a least one Group 4 heavy metal oxide, and a second triad layer interposed between the first and third triad layers consisting essentially of a mixture of silica and at lease one Group 4 heavy metal oxide

Solution-processed assembly of ultrathin transparent conductive cellulose nanopaper embedding AgNWs

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yuanyuan; Jiang, Yaoquan; Shi, Liyi; Cao, Shaomei; Feng, Xin; Miao, Miao; Fang, Jianhui

2015-08-01

Natural biomass based cellulose nanopaper is becoming a promising transparent substrate to supersede traditional petroleum based polymer films in realizing future flexible paper-electronics. Here, ultrathin, highly transparent, outstanding conductive hybrid nanopaper with excellent mechanical flexibility was synthesized by the assembly of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) using a pressured extrusion paper-making technique. The hybrid nanopaper with a thickness of 4.5 μm has a good combination of transparent conductive performance and mechanical stability using bamboo/hemp NFC and AgNWs cross-linked by hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose (HPMC). The heterogeneous fibrous structure of BNFC/HNFC/AgNWs endows a uniform distribution and an enhanced forward light scattering, resulting in high electrical conductivity and optical transmittance. The hybrid nanopaper with an optimal weight ratio of BNFC/HNFC to AgNWs shows outstanding synergistic properties with a transmittance of 86.41% at 550 nm and a sheet resistance of 1.90 ohm sq-1, equal to the electronic conductivity, which is about 500 S cm-1. The BNFC/HNFC/AgNW hybrid nanopaper maintains a stable electrical conductivity after the peeling test and bending at 135° for 1000 cycles, indicating remarkably strong adhesion and mechanical flexibility. Of importance here is that the high-performance and low-cost hybrid nanopaper shows promising potential for electronics application in solar cells, flexible displays and other high-technology products.Natural biomass based cellulose nanopaper is becoming a promising transparent substrate to supersede traditional petroleum based polymer films in realizing future flexible paper-electronics. Here, ultrathin, highly transparent, outstanding conductive hybrid nanopaper with excellent mechanical flexibility was synthesized by the assembly of nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and silver nanowires (AgNWs) using a pressured extrusion paper-making technique. The

Assembly and benign step-by-step post-treatment of oppositely charged reduced graphene oxides for transparent conductive thin films with multiple applications

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jiayi; He, Junhui

2012-05-01

We report a new approach for the fabrication of flexible and transparent conducting thin films via the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of oppositely charged reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and the benign step-by-step post-treatment on substrates with a low glass-transition temperature, such as glass and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The RGO dispersions and films were characterized by means of atomic force microscopy, UV-visible absorption spectrophotometery, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, contact angle/interface systems and a four-point probe. It was found that the graphene thin films exhibited a significant increase in electrical conductivity after the step-by-step post-treatments. The graphene thin film on the PET substrate had a good conductivity retainability after multiple cycles (30 cycles) of excessively bending (bending angle: 180°), while tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films on PET showed a significant decrease in electrical conductivity. In addition, the graphene thin film had a smooth surface with tunable wettability.We report a new approach for the fabrication of flexible and transparent conducting thin films via the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of oppositely charged reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and the benign step-by-step post-treatment on substrates with a low glass-transition temperature, such as glass and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The RGO dispersions and films were characterized by means of atomic force microscopy, UV-visible absorption spectrophotometery, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, contact angle/interface systems and a four-point probe. It was found that the graphene thin films exhibited a significant increase in electrical conductivity after the step-by-step post-treatments. The graphene thin film on the PET substrate had a good conductivity retainability after multiple cycles (30 cycles) of excessively bending (bending angle: 180°), while tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films on

VOx effectively doping CVD-graphene for transparent conductive films

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Qinghua; Shi, Liangjing; Zhang, Qinghong; Wang, Weiqi; Zheng, Huifeng; Zhang, Yuzhi; Liu, Yangqiao; Sun, Jing

2016-11-01

Chemical vapor deposition(CVD)-synthesized graphene is potentially an alternative for tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) transparent conductive films (TCFs), however its sheet resistance is still too high to meet many demands. Vanadium oxide has been widely applied as smart window materials, however, no study has been reported to use it as dopant to improve the conductivity of graphene TCFs. In this study, we firstly reported that VOx doping can effectively lower the sheet resistance of CVD-graphene films while keeping its good optical properties, whose transmittance is as high as 86-90%. The optimized VOx-doped graphene exhibits a sheet resistance as low as 176 Ω/□, which decreases by 56% compared to the undoped graphene films. The doping process is convenient, stable, economical and easy to operate. What is more, VOx can effectively increase the work function(WF) of the film, making it more appropriate for use in solar cells. The evolution of the VOx species annealed at different temperatures below 400 °C has been detailed studied for the first time, based on which the doping mechanism is proposed. The prepared VOx doped graphene is expected to be a promising candidate for transparent conductive film purposes.

ZnO transparent conductive oxide for thin film silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Söderström, T.; Dominé, D.; Feltrin, A.; Despeisse, M.; Meillaud, F.; Bugnon, G.; Boccard, M.; Cuony, P.; Haug, F.-J.; Faÿ, S.; Nicolay, S.; Ballif, C.

2010-03-01

There is general agreement that the future production of electric energy has to be renewable and sustainable in the long term. Photovoltaic (PV) is booming with more than 7GW produced in 2008 and will therefore play an important role in the future electricity supply mix. Currently, crystalline silicon (c-Si) dominates the market with a share of about 90%. Reducing the cost per watt peak and energy pay back time of PV was the major concern of the last decade and remains the main challenge today. For that, thin film silicon solar cells has a strong potential because it allies the strength of c-Si (i.e. durability, abundancy, non toxicity) together with reduced material usage, lower temperature processes and monolithic interconnection. One of the technological key points is the transparent conductive oxide (TCO) used for front contact, barrier layer or intermediate reflector. In this paper, we report on the versatility of ZnO grown by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (ZnO LP-CVD) and its application in thin film silicon solar cells. In particular, we focus on the transparency, the morphology of the textured surface and its effects on the light in-coupling for micromorph tandem cells in both the substrate (n-i-p) and superstrate (p-i-n) configurations. The stabilized efficiencies achieved in Neuchâtel are 11.2% and 9.8% for p-i-n (without ARC) and n-i-p (plastic substrate), respectively.

Flexible Transparent Supercapacitors Based on Hierarchical Nanocomposite Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Fanhong; Wan, Pengbo; Xu, Haijun; Sun, Xiaoming

2017-05-31

Flexible transparent electronic devices have recently gained immense popularity in smart wearable electronics and touch screen devices, which accelerates the development of the portable power sources with reliable flexibility, robust transparency and integration to couple these electronic devices. For potentially coupled as energy storage modules in various flexible, transparent and portable electronics, the flexible transparent supercapacitors are developed and assembled from hierarchical nanocomposite films of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and aligned polyaniline (PANI) nanoarrays upon their synergistic advantages. The nanocomposite films are fabricated from in situ PANI nanoarrays preparation in a blended solution of aniline monomers and rGO onto the flexible, transparent, and stably conducting film (FTCF) substrate, which is obtained by coating silver nanowires (Ag NWs) layer with Meyer rod and then coating of rGO layer on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Optimization of the transparency, the specific capacitance, and the flexibility resulted in the obtained all-solid state nanocomposite supercapacitors exhibiting enhanced capacitance performance, good cycling stability, excellent flexibility, and superior transparency. It provides promising application prospects for exploiting flexible, low-cost, transparent, and high-performance energy storage devices to be coupled into various flexible, transparent, and wearable electronic devices.

Transparent resistive switching memory using aluminum oxide on a flexible substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeom, Seung-Won; Kim, Tan-Young; Ha, Hyeon Jun; Ju, Byeong-Kwon; Shin, Sang-Chul; Shim, Jae Won; Lee, Yun-Hi

2016-01-01

Resistive switching memory (ReRAM) has attracted much attention in recent times owing to its fast switching, simple structure, and non-volatility. Flexible and transparent electronic devices have also attracted considerable attention. We therefore fabricated an Al 2 O 3 -based ReRAM with transparent indium-zinc-oxide (IZO) electrodes on a flexible substrate. The device transmittance was found to be higher than 80% in the visible region (400–800 nm). Bended states (radius = 10 mm) of the device also did not affect the memory performance because of the flexibility of the two transparent IZO electrodes and the thin Al 2 O 3 layer. The conduction mechanism of the resistive switching of our device was explained by ohmic conduction and a Poole–Frenkel emission model. The conduction mechanism was proved by oxygen vacancies in the Al 2 O 3 layer, as analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. These results encourage the application of ReRAM in flexible and transparent electronic devices. (letter)

Transparent resistive switching memory using aluminum oxide on a flexible substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Yeom, Seung-Won; Shin, Sang-Chul; Kim, Tan-Young; Ha, Hyeon Jun; Lee, Yun-Hi; Shim, Jae Won; Ju, Byeong-Kwon

2016-02-01

Resistive switching memory (ReRAM) has attracted much attention in recent times owing to its fast switching, simple structure, and non-volatility. Flexible and transparent electronic devices have also attracted considerable attention. We therefore fabricated an Al2O3-based ReRAM with transparent indium-zinc-oxide (IZO) electrodes on a flexible substrate. The device transmittance was found to be higher than 80% in the visible region (400-800 nm). Bended states (radius = 10 mm) of the device also did not affect the memory performance because of the flexibility of the two transparent IZO electrodes and the thin Al2O3 layer. The conduction mechanism of the resistive switching of our device was explained by ohmic conduction and a Poole-Frenkel emission model. The conduction mechanism was proved by oxygen vacancies in the Al2O3 layer, as analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. These results encourage the application of ReRAM in flexible and transparent electronic devices.

Highly conductive interwoven carbon nanotube and silver nanowire transparent electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J Stapleton, Rakesh A Afre, Amanda V Ellis, Joe G Shapter, Gunther G Andersson, Jamie S Quinton and David A Lewis

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Electrodes fabricated using commercially available silver nanowires (AgNWs and single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs produced sheet resistances in the range 4–24 Ω squ−1 with specular transparencies up to 82 %. Increasing the aqueous dispersibility of SWCNTs decreased the bundle size present in the film resulting in improved SWCNT surface dispersion in the films without compromising transparency or sheet resistance. In addition to providing conduction pathways between the AgNW network, the SWCNTs also provide structural support, creating stable self-supporting films. Entanglement of the AgNWs and SWCNTs was demonstrated to occur in solution prior to deposition by monitoring the transverse plasmon resonance mode of the AgNWs during processing. The interwoven AgNW/SWCNT structures show potential for use in optoelectronic applications as transparent electrodes and as an ITO replacement.

Transparent conductive-polymer strain sensors for touch input sheets of flexible displays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takamatsu, Seiichi; Takahata, Tomoyuki; Muraki, Masato; Iwase, Eiji; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Shimoyama, Isao

2010-01-01

A transparent conductive polymer-based strain-sensor array, designed especially for touch input sheets of flexible displays, was developed. A transparent conductive polymer, namely poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), was utilized owing to its strength under repeated mechanical bending. PEDOT:PSS strain sensors with a thickness of 130 nm exhibited light transmittance of 92%, which is the same as the transmittance of ITO electrodes widely used in flat panel displays. We demonstrated that the sensor array on a flexible sheet was able to sustain mechanical bending 300 times at a bending radius of 5 mm. The strain sensor shows a gauge factor of 5.2. The touch point on a flexible sheet could be detected from histograms of the outputs of the strain sensors when the sheet was pushed with an input force of 5 N. The touch input could be detected on the flexible sheet with a curved surface (radius of curvature of 20 mm). These results show that the developed transparent conductive polymer-based strain-sensor array is applicable to touch input sheets of mechanically bendable displays.

Formation of ultralong copper nanowires by hydrothermal growth for transparent conducting applications

Science.gov (United States)

Balela, Mary Donnabelle L.; Tan, Michael

2017-07-01

Transparent conducting electrodes are key components of optoelectronic devices, such as touch screens, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and solar cells. Recent market surveys have shown that the demands for these devices are rapidly growing at a tremendous rate. Semiconducting oxides, in particular indium tin oxide (ITO) are the material of choice for transparent conducting electrodes. However, these conventional oxides are typically brittle, which limits their applicability in flexible electronics. Metal nanowires, e.g. copper (Cu) nanowires, are considered as the best candidate as substitute for ITO due to their excellent mechanical and electrical properties. In this paper, ultralong copper (Cu) nanowires with were successfully prepared by hydrothermal growth at 50-80°C for 1 h. Ethylenediamine was employed as the structure-directing agents, while hydrazine was used as the reductant. In situ mixed potential measurement was also carried out to monitor Cu deposition. Higher temperature shifted the mixed potential negatively, leading to thicker Cu nanowires. Transparent conducting electrode, with a sheet resistance of 197 Ω sq-1 at an optical transmittance of around 61 %, was fabricated with the Cu nanowire ink.

Infrared transparency and electrical conductivity of non-stoichiometric InxOy films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joseph, Shay; Berger, Shlomo

2010-01-01

In an effort to achieve both high infrared transparency and electrical conductivity, In x O y films having different oxygen atomic fractions, ranging from 0.27 to 0.6 were prepared. From AC electrical measurements it was determined that conductivity of In x O y films, having oxygen atomic fraction near 0.6, is governed by the hopping conduction mechanism via energy states located in the band gap. Conductivity of In x O y films having non-stoichiometric compositions was found to be governed by the free band conduction mechanism. The conduction activation energy was decreased from about 0.47 eV to about 0.02 eV as the deviation of the oxygen atomic fraction from the stoichiometric value of 0.6 was increased. The dielectric function of the films was determined by applying the Drude-Lorentz model to ellipsometric measurements in the infrared and visible wavelengths. In the visible range, the major source for optical transmission loss is interband absorption, which was modeled by the Lorentz model. In the infrared range, optical absorption was measured and attributed to the presence of free charge carriers according to the Drude model. Fitting the model to the optical measurements required a correction factor, which was correlated with the films polarizability. In order to determine the optimal tradeoff between optical transparency in the infrared and electrical conductivity, which were found to be affected mainly by the oxygen concentration in the films, a figure of merit parameter was established. It was found that by introducing non-stoichiometry in the form of oxygen deficiency, the electrical conductivity was improved by as much as two orders of magnitude while the infrared transparency was decreased by no more than 30% with respect to stoichiometric In 2 O 3 films.

Optical transparency and electrical conductivity of nonstoichiometric ultrathin InxOy films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joseph, Shay; Berger, Shlomo

2011-01-01

The effect of thickness and composition on the electrical conductivity and optical transparency, mainly in the infrared, of ultrathin In x O y films was studied. In x O y films 35-470 A thick with oxygen atomic fractions of ∼0.3 and ∼0.5 were prepared via dc magnetron sputtering. All films were polycrystalline, consisting of only the cubic bixbiyte phase of In 2 O 3 . The average grain size of the films increased from 30 to 95 nm as the film thickness increased. The weak dependence of the electrical conductivity on the frequency and the low activation energies for conduction, a few hundredths of an eV, provided an indication that free band conduction was the primary electrical conduction mechanism in the case of all ultrathin In x O y films. It was found that introducing a high degree of nonstoichiometry in the form of oxygen deficiency did not help improve the electrical conductivity, since not all vacancies contributed two free electrons for conduction and due to impurity scattering. The optical nature of these films, studied mainly by ellipsometry, was found to be dependent on the film's composition and thickness. In the infrared, the dielectric function of all In x O y films was consistent with the Drude model, inferring that the transparency loss in this region was a result of free charge carriers. In the visible however, In x O y films under 170 A, which had an oxygen atomic fraction of ∼0.5, were modeled by extending the Drude model to the shorter wavelengths. Films over 170 A, with the same composition, were modeled using the Cauchy dispersion model, meaning that no absorption was measured. These results indicate that, optically, under specific compositions, ultrathin In x O y films undergo a transition from metalliclike behavior to dielectric behavior with increasing film thickness. Using a figure of merit approach, it was determined that a nonstoichiometric 230 A thick In x O y film, with an oxygen atomic fraction of ∼0.3, had the best combination

Perceptual transparency from image deformation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawabe, Takahiro; Maruya, Kazushi; Nishida, Shin'ya

2015-08-18

Human vision has a remarkable ability to perceive two layers at the same retinal locations, a transparent layer in front of a background surface. Critical image cues to perceptual transparency, studied extensively in the past, are changes in luminance or color that could be caused by light absorptions and reflections by the front layer, but such image changes may not be clearly visible when the front layer consists of a pure transparent material such as water. Our daily experiences with transparent materials of this kind suggest that an alternative potential cue of visual transparency is image deformations of a background pattern caused by light refraction. Although previous studies have indicated that these image deformations, at least static ones, play little role in perceptual transparency, here we show that dynamic image deformations of the background pattern, which could be produced by light refraction on a moving liquid's surface, can produce a vivid impression of a transparent liquid layer without the aid of any other visual cues as to the presence of a transparent layer. Furthermore, a transparent liquid layer perceptually emerges even from a randomly generated dynamic image deformation as long as it is similar to real liquid deformations in its spatiotemporal frequency profile. Our findings indicate that the brain can perceptually infer the presence of "invisible" transparent liquids by analyzing the spatiotemporal structure of dynamic image deformation, for which it uses a relatively simple computation that does not require high-level knowledge about the detailed physics of liquid deformation.

Development of the α-IGZO/Ag/α-IGZO Triple-Layer Structure Films for the Application of Transparent Electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kun-Neng; Yang, Cheng-Fu; Wu, Chia-Ching; Chen, Yu-Hsin

2017-02-24

We investigated the structural, optical, and electrical properties of amorphous IGZO/silver/amorphous IGZO (α-IGZO/Ag/α-IGZO) triple-layer structures that were deposited at room temperature on Eagle XG glass and flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates through the sputtering method. Thin Ag layers with different thicknesses were inserted between two IGZO layers to form a triple-layer structure. Ag was used because of its lower absorption and resistivity. Field emission scanning electron microscopy measurements of the triple-layer structures revealed that the thicknesses of the Ag layers ranged from 13 to 41 nm. The thickness of the Ag layer had a large effect on the electrical and optical properties of the electrodes. The optimum thickness of the Ag metal thin film could be evaluated according to the optical transmittance, electrical conductivity, and figure of merit of the electrode. This study demonstrates that the α-IGZO/Ag/α-IGZO triple-layer transparent electrode can be fabricated with low sheet resistance (4.2 Ω/□) and high optical transmittance (88.1%) at room temperature without postannealing processing on the deposited thin films.

Optimizing electrical conductivity and optical transparency of IZO thin film deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lei

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films of In2O3, SnO2, ZnO, and their mixtures have been extensively used in optoelectronic applications such as transparent electrodes in solar photovoltaic devices. In this project I deposited amorphous indium-zinc oxide (IZO) thin films by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering from a In2O3-10 wt.% ZnO sintered ceramic target to optimize the RF power, argon gas flowing rate, and the thickness of film to reach the maximum conductivity and transparency in visible spectrum. The results indicated optimized conductivity and transparency of IZO thin film is closer to ITO's conductivity and transparency, and is even better when the film was deposited with one specific tilted angle. National Science Foundation (NSF) MRSEC program at University of Nebraska Lincoln, and was hosted by Professor Jeff Shields lab.

Crystalline TiO₂: A Generic and Effective Electron-Conducting Protection Layer for Photoanodes and -cathodes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mei, Bastian Timo; Pedersen, Thomas; Malacrida, Paolo

2015-01-01

Stabilizing efficient photoabsorbers for solar water splitting has recently shown significant progress with the development of various protection layers. Suitable protection layers for tandem devices should be conductive, transparent, and stable in strongly acidic or alkaline solutions. This paper......O2 generally applicable for photoanode assemblies, and thus for protecting tandem devices, are outlined and quantitatively shown by band diagram calculations. The results presented here provide the understanding required for the design of highly efficient and stable photoelectrochemical water...

Structural and electrical properties of sputtering power and gas pressure on Ti-dope In2O3 transparent conductive films by RF magnetron sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Chaoumead, Accarat; Joo, Bong-Hyun; Kwak, Dong-Joo; Sung, Youl-Moon

2013-06-01

Transparent conductive titanium-doped indium oxide (ITiO) films were deposited on Corning glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering method. The effects of RF sputtering power and Ar gas pressure on the structural and electrical properties of the films were investigated experimentally, using a 2.5 wt% TiO2-doped In2O3 target. The deposition rate was in the range of around 20-60 nm/min under the experimental conditions of 5-20 mTorr of gas pressure and 220-350 W of RF power. The lowest resistivity of 1.2 × 10-4 Ω cm, the average optical transmittance of 75%, the high hall mobility of 47.03 cm2/V s and the relatively low carrier concentration of 1.15E+21 cm-3 were obtained for the ITiO film, prepared at RF power of 300 W and Ar gas pressure of 15 mTorr. This resistivity of 1.2 × 10-4 Ω cm is low enough as a transparent conducting layer in various electro-optical devices and it is comparable with that of ITO or ZnO:Al conducting layer.

Healable, Transparent, Room-Temperature Electronic Sensors Based on Carbon Nanotube Network-Coated Polyelectrolyte Multilayers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Shouli; Sun, Chaozheng; Yan, Hong; Sun, Xiaoming; Zhang, Han; Luo, Liang; Lei, Xiaodong; Wan, Pengbo; Chen, Xiaodong

2015-11-18

Transparent and conductive film based electronics have attracted substantial research interest in various wearable and integrated display devices in recent years. The breakdown of transparent electronics prompts the development of transparent electronics integrated with healability. A healable transparent chemical gas sensor device is assembled from layer-by-layer-assembled transparent healable polyelectrolyte multilayer films by developing effective methods to cast transparent carbon nanotube (CNT) networks on healable substrates. The healable CNT network-containing film with transparency and superior network structures on self-healing substrate is obtained by the lateral movement of the underlying self-healing layer to bring the separated areas of the CNT layer back into contact. The as-prepared healable transparent film is assembled into healable transparent chemical gas sensor device for flexible, healable gas sensing at room temperature, due to the 1D confined network structure, relatively high carrier mobility, and large surface-to-volume ratio. The healable transparent chemical gas sensor demonstrates excellent sensing performance, robust healability, reliable flexibility, and good transparency, providing promising opportunities for developing flexible, healable transparent optoelectronic devices with the reduced raw material consumption, decreased maintenance costs, improved lifetime, and robust functional reliability. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Transparent back contacts for P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sendova-Vassileva, M; Dikov, H; Popkirov, G; Lazarova, E; Vitanov, P; Gancheva, V; Grancharov, G; Tsocheva, D; Mokreva, P

2014-01-01

A new combination of layers functioning as a transparent contact is proposed and tested in real solar cells. The contacts consist of TiO 2 layers and thin metal layers (Ag, Cu) and are deposited by magnetron sputtering. The optical transmission and electrical conductivity of the transparent contact layers (TCL) are measured. The TCLs are applied as back contacts in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells deposited on ITO covered glass and consisting of the following layers: ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/back contact. The organic layers are deposited by spin-coating. For comparison, the same bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells are prepared with a sputtered Ag back contact. The first results show a dependence of the current-voltage parameters of the studied solar cells on the thickness of the different component layers of the transparent back contacts. There is a balance that has to be observed between the electrical characteristics of the contacts and their optical transparency. Future plans involve their inclusion as intermediate contacts in tandem organic solar cells.

Realization of ultrathin silver layers in highly conductive and transparent zinc tin oxide/silver/zinc tin oxide multilayer electrodes deposited at room temperature for transparent organic devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Winkler, Thomas; Schmidt, Hans; Fluegge, Harald; Nikolayzik, Fabian; Baumann, Ihno; Schmale, Stephan; Johannes, Hans-Hermann; Rabe, Torsten [Institut fuer Hochfrequenztechnik, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, Schleinitzstr. 22, 38106 Braunschweig (Germany); Hamwi, Sami, E-mail: sami.hamwi@ihf.tu-bs.de [Institut fuer Hochfrequenztechnik, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, Schleinitzstr. 22, 38106 Braunschweig (Germany); Riedl, Thomas [Institute of Electronic Devices, Bergische Universitaet Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter Str. 21, 42119 Wuppertal (Germany); Kowalsky, Wolfgang [Institut fuer Hochfrequenztechnik, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig, Schleinitzstr. 22, 38106 Braunschweig (Germany)

2012-05-01

We report on transparent and highly conductive multilayer electrodes prepared at room temperature by RF sputtering of zinc tin oxide (ZTO) and thermal evaporation of ultrathin silver (Ag) as top contact for transparent organic light emitting diodes (TOLED). Specifically, we study the morphological, electrical and optical properties of the multilayer structure in particular of the thin Ag film. The tendency of Ag to form agglomerates over time on top of ZTO is shown by atomic force microscopy. From the optical constants derived from ellipsometric measurements we evidenced a bulk like behavior of an Ag film with a thickness of 8 nm embedded in ZTO leading to a low sheet resistance of 9 {Omega}/sq. Furthermore we verify the optical constants by simulation of an optimized ZTO/Ag/ZTO structure. As an application we present a highly efficient TOLED providing a device transmittance of > 82% in the visible part of the spectrum. The TOLED shows no damage caused by sputtering on a lighting area of 80 mm{sup 2} and exhibits efficiencies of 43 cd/A and 36 lm/W.

Transparent conductive electrodes of mixed TiO2−x–indium tin oxide for organic photovoltaics

KAUST Repository

Lee, Kyu-Sung

2012-05-22

A transparent conductive electrode of mixed titanium dioxide (TiO2−x)–indium tin oxide (ITO) with an overall reduction in the use of indium metal is demonstrated. When used in organic photovoltaicdevices based on bulk heterojunction photoactive layer of poly (3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester, a power conversion efficiency of 3.67% was obtained, a value comparable to devices having sputtered ITO electrode. Surface roughness and optical efficiency are improved when using the mixed TiO2−x–ITO electrode. The consumption of less indium allows for lower fabrication cost of such mixed thin filmelectrode.

Sputtered tin oxide and titanium oxide thin films as alternative transparent conductive oxides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boltz, Janika

2011-12-12

Alternative transparent conductive oxides to tin doped indium oxide have been investigated. In this work, antimony doped tin oxide and niobium doped titanium oxide have been studied with the aim to prepare transparent and conductive films. Antimony doped tin oxide and niobium doped titanium oxide belong to different groups of oxides; tin oxide is a soft oxide, while titanium oxide is a hard oxide. Both oxides are isolating materials, in case the stoichiometry is SnO{sub 2} and TiO{sub 2}. In order to achieve transparent and conductive films free carriers have to be generated by oxygen vacancies, by metal ions at interstitial positions in the crystal lattice or by cation doping with Sb or Nb, respectively. Antimony doped tin oxide and niobium doped titanium oxide films have been prepared by reactive direct current magnetron sputtering (dc MS) from metallic targets. The process parameters and the doping concentration in the films have been varied. The films have been electrically, optically and structurally analysed in order to analyse the influence of the process parameters and the doping concentration on the film properties. Post-deposition treatments of the films have been performed in order to improve the film properties. For the deposition of transparent and conductive tin oxide, the dominant parameter during the deposition is the oxygen content in the sputtering gas. The Sb incorporation as doping atoms has a minor influence on the electrical, optical and structural properties. Within a narrow oxygen content in the sputtering gas highly transparent and conductive tin oxide films have been prepared. In this study, the lowest resistivity in the as deposited state is 2.9 m{omega} cm for undoped tin oxide without any postdeposition treatment. The minimum resistivity is related to a transition to crystalline films with the stoichiometry of SnO{sub 2}. At higher oxygen content the films turn out to have a higher resistivity due to an oxygen excess. After post

Fabrication and stability investigation of ultra-thin transparent and flexible Cu-Ag-Au tri-layer film on PET

Science.gov (United States)

Prakasarao, Ch Surya; D'souza, Slavia Deeksha; Hazarika, Pratim; Karthiselva N., S.; Ramesh Babu, R.; Kovendhan, M.; Kumar, R. Arockia; Joseph, D. Paul

2018-04-01

The need for transparent conducting electrodes with high transmittance, low sheet resistance and flexibility to replace Indium Tin Oxide is ever growing. We have deposited and studied the performance of ultra-thin Cu-Ag-Au tri-layer films over a flexible poly-ethylene terephthalate substrate. Scotch tape test showed good adhesion of the metallic film. Transmittance of the tri-layer was around 40 % in visible region. Optical profiler measurements were done to study the surface features. The XRD pattern revealed that film was amorphous. Sheet resistance measured by four probe technique was around 7.7 Ohm/Δ and was stable up to 423 K. The transport parameters by Hall effect showed high conductivity and carrier concentration with a mobility of 5.58 cm2/Vs. Tests performed in an indigenously designed bending unit indicated the films to be stable both mechanically and electrically even after 50,000 bending cycles.

Properties of TiO{sub 2}-based transparent conducting oxides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hitosugi, Taro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 213-0012 Kawasaki (Japan); Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, 980-8577 Sendai (Japan); Yamada, Naoomi; Nakao, Shoichiro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 213-0012 Kawasaki (Japan); Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), 213-0012 Kawasaki (Japan); Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, 113-0033 Tokyo (Japan)

2010-07-15

The development and properties of titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2})-based transparent conducting oxides (TCO), which exhibit properties comparable to those of In{sub 2-x}Sn{sub x}O{sub 3} (ITO), are reviewed in this article. An epitaxial thin film of anatase Ti{sub 0.94}Nb{sub 0.06}O{sub 2} exhibited a resistivity ({rho}) of 2.3 x 10{sup -4}{omega} cm and internal transmittance of {proportional_to}95% in the visible light region. Furthermore, we prepared polycrystalline films with {rho} of 6.4 x 10{sup -4}{omega} cm at room temperature on glass substrates by using sputtering. We focus on characteristics unique to TiO{sub 2}-based TCO, such as a high refractive index, high transmittance in infrared, and high stability in reducing atmospheres. Possible applications of TiO{sub 2}-based TCOs, as well as the mechanism of the transparent conducting properties found in this d-electron-based TCO, are discussed in this review. Photograph showing TiO{sub 2}-based TCO on a transparent plastic film. Note that the film appears greenish due to interference in the film originating from its high refractive index. This high refractive index is one of the unique characteristics of TiO{sub 2}-based TCO. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Copper:molybdenum sub-oxide blend as transparent conductive electrode (TCE) indium free

Science.gov (United States)

Hssein, Mehdi; Cattin, Linda; Morsli, Mustapha; Addou, Mohammed; Bernède, Jean-Christian

2016-05-01

Oxide/metal/oxide structures have been shown to be promising alternatives to ITO. In such structures, in order to decrease the high light reflection of the metal film it is embedded between two metal oxides dielectric. MoO3-x is often used as oxide due to its capacity to be a performing anode buffer layer in organic solar cells, while silver is the metal the most often used [1]. Some attempts to use cheaper metal such as copper have been done. However it was shown that Cu diffuses strongly into MoO3-x [2]. Here we used this property to grow simple new transparent conductive oxide (TCE), i.e., Cu: MoO3-x blend. After the deposition of a thin Cu layer, a film of MoO3-x is deposited by sublimation. An XPS study shows more than 50% of Cu is present at the surface of the structure. In order to limit the Cu diffusion an ultra-thin Al layer is deposited onto MoO3-x. Then, in order to obtain a good hole collecting contact with the electron donor of the organic solar cells, a second MoO3-x layer is deposited. After optimization of the thickness of the different layers, the optimum structure is as follow: Cu (12 nm) : MoO3-x (20 nm)/Al (0.5 nm)/ MoO3-x (10 nm). The sheet resistance of this structure is Rsq = 5.2 Ω/sq. and its transmittance is Tmax = 65%. The factor of merit ϕM = T10/Rsq. = 2.41 × 10-3 Ω-1, which made this new TCE promising as anode in organic solar cells. Contribution to the topical issue "Materials for Energy Harvesting, Conversion and Storage (ICOME 2015) - Elected submissions", edited by Jean-Michel Nunzi, Rachid Bennacer and Mohammed El Ganaoui

Superior thermal conductivity of transparent polymer nanocomposites with a crystallized alumina membrane

OpenAIRE

Md. Poostforush; H. Azizi

2014-01-01

The properties of novel thermoconductive and optically transparent nanocomposites have been reported. The composites were prepared by the impregnation of thermoset resin into crystallized anodic aluminum oxide (AAO). Crystallized AAO synthesized by annealing amorphous AAO membrane at 1200°C. Although through-plane thermal conductivity of nanocomposites improved up to 1.13 W•m–1•K–1 (39 vol% alumina) but their transparency was preserved (Tλ550 nm ~ 72%). Integrated annealed alumina phase, low ...

Silver nanowire/polyaniline composite transparent electrode with improved surface properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, A.B.V. Kiran; Jiang, Jianwei; Bae, Chang Wan; Seo, Dong Min; Piao, Longhai; Kim, Sang-Ho

2014-01-01

Highlights: • AgNWs/PANI transparent electrode was prepared by layer-by-layer coating method. • The surface roughness of the electrode reached to 6.5 nm (root mean square). • The electrode had reasonable sheet resistance (25 Ω/□) and transmittance (83.5%). - Abstract: Silver nanowires (AgNWs) are as potential candidates to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in transparent electrodes because of their preferred conducting and optical properties. However, their rough surface properties are not favorable for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices, such as displays and thin-film solar cells. In the present investigation, AgNWs/polyaniline composite transparent electrodes with better surface properties were successfully prepared. AgNWs were incorporated into polyaniline:polystyrene sulfonate (PANI:PSS) by layer-by-layer coating and mechanical pressing. PANI:PSS decreased the surface roughness of the AgNWs electrode by filling the gap of the random AgNWs network. The transparent composite electrode had decreased surface roughness (root mean square 6.5 nm) with reasonable sheet resistance (25 Ω/□) and transmittance (83.5%)

Preparation of Graphene Sheets by Electrochemical Exfoliation of Graphite in Confined Space and Their Application in Transparent Conductive Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hui; Wei, Can; Zhu, Kaiyi; Zhang, Yu; Gong, Chunhong; Guo, Jianhui; Zhang, Jiwei; Yu, Laigui; Zhang, Jingwei

2017-10-04

A novel electrochemical exfoliation mode was established to prepare graphene sheets efficiently with potential applications in transparent conductive films. The graphite electrode was coated with paraffin to keep the electrochemical exfoliation in confined space in the presence of concentrated sodium hydroxide as the electrolyte, yielding ∼100% low-defect (the D band to G band intensity ratio, I D /I G = 0.26) graphene sheets. Furthermore, ozone was first detected with ozone test strips, and the effect of ozone on the exfoliation of graphite foil and the microstructure of the as-prepared graphene sheets was investigated. Findings indicate that upon applying a low voltage (3 V) on the graphite foil partially coated with paraffin wax that the coating can prevent the insufficiently intercalated graphite sheets from prematurely peeling off from the graphite electrode thereby affording few-layer (graphene sheets in a yield of as much as 60%. Besides, the ozone generated during the electrochemical exfoliation process plays a crucial role in the exfoliation of graphite, and the amount of defect in the as-prepared graphene sheets is dependent on electrolytic potential and electrode distance. Moreover, the graphene-based transparent conductive films prepared by simple modified vacuum filtration exhibit an excellent transparency and a low sheet resistance after being treated with NH 4 NO 3 and annealing (∼1.21 kΩ/□ at ∼72.4% transmittance).

Emerging Transparent Conducting Electrodes for Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tze-Bin Song

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs have attracted much attention in recent years as next generation lighting and displays, due to their many advantages, including superb performance, mechanical flexibility, ease of fabrication, chemical versatility, etc. In order to fully realize the highly flexible features, reduce the cost and further improve the performance of OLED devices, replacing the conventional indium tin oxide with better alternative transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs is a crucial step. In this review, we focus on the emerging alternative TCE materials for OLED applications, including carbon nanotubes (CNTs, metallic nanowires, conductive polymers and graphene. These materials are selected, because they have been applied as transparent electrodes for OLED devices and achieved reasonably good performance or even higher device performance than that of indium tin oxide (ITO glass. Various electrode modification techniques and their effects on the device performance are presented. The effects of new TCEs on light extraction, device performance and reliability are discussed. Highly flexible, stretchable and efficient OLED devices are achieved based on these alternative TCEs. These results are summarized for each material. The advantages and current challenges of these TCE materials are also identified.

Development of the α-IGZO/Ag/α-IGZO Triple-Layer Structure Films for the Application of Transparent Electrode

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kun-Neng Chen

2017-02-01

Full Text Available We investigated the structural, optical, and electrical properties of amorphous IGZO/silver/amorphous IGZO (α-IGZO/Ag/α-IGZO triple-layer structures that were deposited at room temperature on Eagle XG glass and flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates through the sputtering method. Thin Ag layers with different thicknesses were inserted between two IGZO layers to form a triple-layer structure. Ag was used because of its lower absorption and resistivity. Field emission scanning electron microscopy measurements of the triple-layer structures revealed that the thicknesses of the Ag layers ranged from 13 to 41 nm. The thickness of the Ag layer had a large effect on the electrical and optical properties of the electrodes. The optimum thickness of the Ag metal thin film could be evaluated according to the optical transmittance, electrical conductivity, and figure of merit of the electrode. This study demonstrates that the α-IGZO/Ag/α-IGZO triple-layer transparent electrode can be fabricated with low sheet resistance (4.2 Ω/□ and high optical transmittance (88.1% at room temperature without postannealing processing on the deposited thin films.

The effect of Cu on the properties of CdO/Cu/CdO multilayer films for transparent conductive electrode applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raaif, M.; Mohamed, S.H. [Sohag University, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Sohag (Egypt)

2017-06-15

Transparent conductive CdO/Cu/CdO multilayer films were prepared using rf plasma magnetron sputtering and electron beam evaporation techniques. The CdO layers were prepared using rf plasma magnetron sputtering, while the Cu interlayer was prepared by electron beam evaporation technique. The Cu layer thickness was varied between 1 and 10 nm. The structural and optical properties as well as the sheet resistance of the multilayer films were studied. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed the presence of cubic CdO structure and the Cu peak was only observed for the multilayers prepared with 10 nm of Cu. It has been observed that the Cu interlayer thickness has a great influence on the optical and electrical properties of the multilayers. The transmittance of the multilayer films decreased while the reflectance increased with increasing Cu interlayer thickness. The refractive index and the extinction coefficient of the multilayer films were calculated. The estimated optical band gap values were found to be decreased from 2.75 ± 0.02 to 2.40 ± 0.02 eV as the Cu interlayer thickness increased from 1 to 10 nm. The sheet resistance was sensitive to the Cu interlayer thickness and it decreased with increasing Cu interlayer thickness. A sheet resistSSance of 21.7 Ω/sq, an average transmittance (between 700 and 1000 nm) of 77%, and an optical band gap of 2.5 ± 0.02 eV were estimated for the multilayer film with 2 nm Cu layer. The multilayer film with 2 nm Cu layer has the highest figure of merit value of 3.2 x 10{sup -3} Ω{sup -1}. This indicates that the properties of this multilayer film are suitable for transparent conductive electrode applications. (orig.)

Transparent conducting oxide layers for thin film silicon solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rath, J.K.; Liu, Y.; de Jong, M.M.; de Wild, J.; Schuttauf, J.A.; Brinza, M.; Schropp, R.E.I.

2009-01-01

Texture etching of ZnO:1%Al layers using diluted HCl solution provides excellent TCOs with crater type surface features for the front contact of superstrate type of thin film silicon solar cells. The texture etched ZnO:Al definitely gives superior performance than Asahi SnO2:F TCO in case of

Superhydrophobic and anti-reflective ZnO nanorod-coated FTO transparent conductive thin films prepared by a three-step method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Bao-jia, E-mail: li_bjia@126.com [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013 (China); Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Center for Photon Manufacturing Science and Technology, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013 (China); Huang, Li-jing; Ren, Nai-fei [Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Center for Photon Manufacturing Science and Technology, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013 (China); School of Mechanical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013 (China); Kong, Xia; Cai, Yun-long; Zhang, Jie-lu [Jiangsu Tailong Reduction Box Co. Ltd., Taixing, 225400 (China)

2016-07-25

A ZnO nanorod-coated FTO film was prepared by sputtering an AZO layer on FTO glass, thermal annealing of the AZO/FTO film, and hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanorods at 70 °C on the annealed AZO/FTO film using zinc foils as zinc source. Two other ZnO nanorod-coated FTO films were also prepared by hydrothermal growths of ZnO nanorods on the FTO glass and the unannealed AZO/FTO film respectively for comparison purpose. The results were observed in detail using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, water contact/sliding angle measurement, spectrophotometry and four-point probe measurement. The ZnO nanorods on the annealed AZO/FTO film were found to exhibit denser distribution and better orientation than those on the FTO glass and the unannealed AZO/FTO film. As a result, the ZnO nanorod-coated annealed AZO/FTO film demonstrated superhydrophobicity, high transparency and low reflectance in the visible range. Also this film had the lowest sheet resistance of 4.0 Ω/sq, implying its good electrical conductivity. This investigation provides a valuable reference for developing multifunctional transparent conductive films. - Highlights: • ZnO nanorod-coated annealed AZO/FTO film was obtained by a three-step method. • FTO and unannealed AZO/FTO films were also used as substrates for comparison. • ZnO nanorods on the annealed AZO/FTO film were denser and more vertically-oriented. • The ZnO nanorod-coated annealed AZO/FTO film (Z/TA-FTO) had superhydrophobicity. • The Z/TA-FTO exhibited high transparency, low reflectance and good conductivity.

Controlled Synthesis of Monolayer Graphene Toward Transparent Flexible Conductive Film Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Han-Young

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We demonstrate the synthesis of monolayer graphene using thermal chemical vapor deposition and successive transfer onto arbitrary substrates toward transparent flexible conductive film application. We used electron-beam-deposited Ni thin film as a synthetic catalyst and introduced a gas mixture consisting of methane and hydrogen. To optimize the synthesis condition, we investigated the effects of synthetic temperature and cooling rate in the ranges of 850–1,000°C and 2–8°C/min, respectively. It was found that a cooling rate of 4°C/min after 1,000°C synthesis is the most effective condition for monolayer graphene production. We also successfully transferred as-synthesized graphene films to arbitrary substrates such as silicon-dioxide-coated wafers, glass, and polyethylene terephthalate sheets to develop transparent, flexible, and conductive film application.

AZO/Au/AZO tri-layer thin films for the very low resistivity transparent electrode applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chu, Chien-Hsun [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Wu, Hung-Wei, E-mail: hwwu@mail.ksu.edu.tw [Department of Computer and Communication, Kun Shan University, Tainan 71003, Taiwan (China); Huang, Jow-Lay [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 81148, Taiwan (China); Research Center for Energy Technology and Strategy, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China)

2014-08-01

Highlights: • High-quality Al-doped ZnO (AZO)/Au/AZO transparent conducting oxide films. • AZO films (30 nm) made by RF sputtering; ion sputtering for Au film (5–20 nm). • Effects of Au thickness on optical and electrical properties were analyzed. • The resistivity of 9 × 10{sup −5} Ω cm and the transmittance of 86.2% of the multilayer films were obtained in this study. - Abstract: Aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO)/gold/AZO tri-layer structures with very low resistivity and high transmittance are prepared by simultaneous RF magnetron sputtering (for AZO) and ion sputtering (for Au). The properties of the tri-layer films are investigated at different Au layer thicknesses (5–20 nm). The effects of Au layer thickness and the role of Au on the transmission properties of the tri-layer films were investigated. The very low resistivity of 1.01 × 10{sup −5} Ω cm, mobility of 27.665 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1}, and carrier concentration of 4.563 × 10{sup 22} cm{sup −3} were obtained at an Au layer thickness of 20 nm. The peak transmittance of 86.18% at 650-nm wavelength was obtained at an Au layer thickness of 8 nm. These results show the films to be a good candidate for high-quality electrode scheme in various display applications.

Double-layered liquid crystal light shutter for control of absorption and scattering of the light incident to a transparent display device

Science.gov (United States)

Huh, Jae-Won; Yu, Byeong-Hun; Shin, Dong-Myung; Yoon, Tae-Hoon

2015-03-01

Recently, a transparent display has got much attention as one of the next generation display devices. Especially, active studies on a transparent display using organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are in progress. However, since it is not possible to obtain black color using a transparent OLED, it suffers from poor visibility. This inevitable problem can be solved by using a light shutter. Light shutter technology can be divided into two types; light absorption and scattering. However, a light shutter based on light absorption cannot block the background image perfectly and a light shutter based on light scattering cannot provide black color. In this work we demonstrate a light shutter using two liquid crystal (LC) layers, a light absorption layer and a light scattering layer. To realize a light absorption layer and a light scattering layer, we use the planar state of a dye-doped chiral nematic LC (CNLC) cell and the focal-conic state of a long-pitch CNLC cell, respectively. The proposed light shutter device can block the background image perfectly and show black color. We expect that the proposed light shutter can increase the visibility of a transparent display.

Applications of Silver Nanowires on Transparent Conducting Film and Electrode of Electrochemical Capacitor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan-Jun Song

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Silver nanowire has potential applications on transparent conducting film and electrode of electrochemical capacitor due to its excellent conductivity. Transparent conducting film (G-film was prepared by coating silver nanowires on glass substrate using Meyer rod method, which exhibited better performance than carbon nanotube and graphene. The conductivity of G-film can be improved by increasing sintering temperature. Electrode of electrochemical capacitor (I-film was fabricated through the same method with G-film on indium tin oxide (ITO. CV curves of I-film under different scanning rates had obvious redox peaks, which indicated that I-film exhibited excellent electrochemical pseudocapacitance performance and good reversibility during charge/discharge process. In addition, the specific capacitance of I-film was measured by galvanostatic charge/discharge experiments, indicating that I-film exhibits high special capacitance and excellent electrochemical stability.

A high-performance, flexible and robust metal nanotrough-embedded transparent conducting film for wearable touch screen panels

Science.gov (United States)

Im, Hyeon-Gyun; An, Byeong Wan; Jin, Jungho; Jang, Junho; Park, Young-Geun; Park, Jang-Ung; Bae, Byeong-Soo

2016-02-01

We report a high-performance, flexible and robust metal nanotrough-embedded transparent conducting hybrid film (metal nanotrough-GFRHybrimer). Using an electro-spun polymer nanofiber web as a template and vacuum-deposited gold as a conductor, a junction resistance-free continuous metal nanotrough network is formed. Subsequently, the metal nanotrough is embedded on the surface of a glass-fabric reinforced composite substrate (GFRHybrimer). The monolithic composite structure of our transparent conducting film allows simultaneously high thermal stability (24 h at 250 °C in air), a smooth surface topography (Rrms touch screen panel (TSP) is fabricated using the transparent conducting films. The flexible TSP device stably operates on the back of a human hand and on a wristband.We report a high-performance, flexible and robust metal nanotrough-embedded transparent conducting hybrid film (metal nanotrough-GFRHybrimer). Using an electro-spun polymer nanofiber web as a template and vacuum-deposited gold as a conductor, a junction resistance-free continuous metal nanotrough network is formed. Subsequently, the metal nanotrough is embedded on the surface of a glass-fabric reinforced composite substrate (GFRHybrimer). The monolithic composite structure of our transparent conducting film allows simultaneously high thermal stability (24 h at 250 °C in air), a smooth surface topography (Rrms touch screen panel (TSP) is fabricated using the transparent conducting films. The flexible TSP device stably operates on the back of a human hand and on a wristband. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07657a

Structural study of TiO2-based transparent conducting films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hitosugi, T.; Yamada, N.; Nakao, S.; Hatabayashi, K.; Shimada, T.; Hasegawa, T.

2008-01-01

We have investigated microscopic structures of sputter and pulsed laser deposited (PLD) anatase Nb-doped TiO 2 transparent conducting films, and discuss what causes the degradation of resistivity in sputter-deposited films. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscope and polarized optical microscope images show inhomogeneous intragrain structures and small grains of ∼10 μm in sputter-deposited films. From comparison with PLD films, these results suggest that homogeneous film growth is the important factor to obtain highly conducting sputter-deposited film

Transparent 1T-MoS2 nanofilm robustly anchored on substrate by layer-by-layer self-assembly and its ultra-high cycling stability as supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Danqin; Zhou, Weiqiang; Zhou, Qianjie; Ye, Guo; Wang, Tongzhou; Wu, Jing; Chang, Yanan; Xu, Jingkun

2017-09-01

Two-dimensional MoS2 materials have attracted more and more interest and been applied to the field of energy storage because of its unique physical, optical, electronic and electrochemical properties. However, there are no reports on high-stable transparent MoS2 nanofilms as supercapacitors electrode. Here, we describe a transparent 1T-MoS2 nanofilm electrode with super-long stability anchored on the indium tin oxide (ITO) glass by a simple alternate layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly of a highly charged cationic poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and negative single-/few-layer 1T MoS2 nanosheets. The ITO/(PDDA/MoS2)20 electrode shows a transmittance of 51.6% at 550 nm and obviously exhibits excellent transparency by naked eye observation. Ultrasonic damage test validates that the (PDDA/MoS2)20 film with the average thickness about 50 nm is robustly anchored on ITO substrate. Additionally, the electrochemical results indicate that the ITO/(PDDA/MoS2)20 film shows areal capacitance of 1.1 mF cm-2 and volumetric capacitance of 220 F cm-3 at 0.04 mA cm-2, 130.6% retention of the original capacitance value after 5000 cycles. Further experiments indicate that the formation of transparent (PDDA/MoS2) x nanofilm by LBL self-assembly can be extended to other substrates, e.g., slide glass and flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Thus, the easily available (PDDA/MoS2) x nanofilm electrode has great potential for application in transparent and/or flexible optoelectronic and electronics devices.

Stable Nafion-functionalized graphene dispersions for transparent conducting films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Yangqiao; Gao Lian; Sun Jing; Wang Yan; Zhang Jing

2009-01-01

Nafion was used for the first time to aid in preparing stable graphene dispersions in mixed water/ethanol (1:1) solvents via the reduction of graphite oxide using hydrazine. The dispersion was characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectra, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential analysis, etc. It was found that for Nafion-to-graphene ratios higher than 5:1, graphene solutions with concentrations up to 1 mg ml -1 and stabilities of over three months were obtained. It was proposed that the Nafion adsorbed onto the graphene by the hydrophobic interaction of its fluoro-backbones with the graphene layer and imparted stability by an electrosteric mechanism. Furthermore, transparent and conductive films were prepared using these highly stable Nafion-stabilized graphene dispersions. The prepared Nafion-graphene films possess smooth and homogeneous surfaces and the sheet resistance was as low as 30 kΩ/sq for a transmittance of 80% at 550 nm, which was much lower than for other graphene films obtained by chemical reduction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the p-doping of the graphene by Nafion. It was expected that this p-doping effect, as well as the high dispersing ability of Nafion for graphene and the connection of the sp 2 domains by residual Nafion combined to produce good properties of the Nafion-graphene films.

Nanopatterned Metallic Films for Use As Transparent Conductive Electrodes in Optoelectronic Devices

KAUST Repository

Catrysse, Peter B.; Fan, Shanhui

2010-01-01

We investigate the use of nanopatterned metallic films as transparent conductive electrodes in optoelectronic devices. We find that the physics of nanopatterned electrodes, which are often optically thin metallic films, differs from

Graphene-epoxy flexible transparent capacitor obtained by graphene-polymer transfer and UV-induced bonding.

Science.gov (United States)

Sangermano, Marco; Chiolerio, Alessandro; Veronese, Giulio Paolo; Ortolani, Luca; Rizzoli, Rita; Mancarella, Fulvio; Morandi, Vittorio

2014-02-01

A new approach is reported for the preparation of a graphene-epoxy flexible transparent capacitor obtained by graphene-polymer transfer and UV-induced bonding. SU8 resin is employed for realizing a well-adherent, transparent, and flexible supporting layer. The achieved transparent graphene/SU8 membrane presents two distinct surfaces: one homogeneous conductive surface containing a graphene layer and one dielectric surface typical of the epoxy polymer. Two graphene/SU8 layers are bonded together by using an epoxy photocurable formulation based on epoxy resin. The obtained material showed a stable and clear capacitive behavior. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Transparent semiconducting oxides: materials and devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grundmann, Marius; Frenzel, Heiko; Lajn, Alexander; Lorenz, Michael; Schein, Friedrich; von Wenckstern, Holger [Universitaet Leipzig, Institut fuer Experimentelle Physik II, Linnestr. 5, 04103 Leipzig (Germany)

2010-06-15

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) are a well-known material class allowing Ohmic conduction. A large free carrier concentration in the 10{sup 21} cm{sup -3} range and high conductivity (beyond 10{sup 4} S/cm) is feasible simultaneously with high transparency. Applications are manifold and include touch screens and front contacts for displays or solar cells. Transparent semiconducting oxides (TSO) are oxides with an intermediate free carrier concentration (typically 10{sup 14}-10{sup 18} cm{sup -3}) allowing the formation of depletion layers. We review recent results on TSO-based transistors and inverters. Most work has been reported on MISFETs. We show that MESFETs exhibit high performance and low voltage operation of oxide electronics. MESFET-based inverters offer superior performance compared to results reported for TSO MISFET-based circuits. Optical image of inverter based on thin film MESFETs with Mg{sub 0.003}Zn{sub 0.997}O channels (left) and experimental inverter characteristic for supply voltage of V{sub DD} = + 2.0 V (right). (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Highly transparent conductive AZO/Zr50Cu50/AZO films in wide range of visible and near infrared wavelength grown by pulsed laser deposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingyun Cheng

Full Text Available Novel AZO/Zr50Cu50/AZO tri-layer transparent conductive films with excellent transmittance in both visible and near infrared region were successfully prepared by pulsed laser deposition on glass substrates. The electrical and optical properties were investigated at various Zr50Cu50 thicknesses. As the AZO thickness was fixed at 50 nm and Zr50Cu50 thickness was varied between 1 and 18 nm, it was found that AZO (50 nm/Zr50Cu50/AZO (50 nm tri-layer films exhibited good conductivity and high transmittance in both visible and near infrared wavelength. Additionally, both the electrical and optical properties of AZO (50 nm/Zr50Cu50 (2 nm/AZO (50 nm tri-layer films were found to be sensitive to the growth temperature. In this work, the lowest sheet resistance (43 Ω/□ and relatively high transmittance (∼80% in the range of 400–2000 nm were achieved while the growth temperature was 350 °C. Furthermore, the AZO (50 nm/Zr50Cu50 (2 nm/AZO (50 nm thin film deposited at 350 °C exhibits the highest figure of merit of 1.42 × 10−3 Ω−1, indicating that the multilayer is promising for coated glasses and thin film solar cells. Keywords: Transparent conductive oxide, AZO, Zr50Cu50, Electrical and optical properties, Visible and near infrared transmittance

Fabrication of transparent conductive tri-composite film for electrochromic application

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Dahyun; Lee, Minji; Kim, Hyungsub; Chu, Won-shik; Chun, Doo-man; Ahn, Sung-Hoon; Lee, Caroline Sunyong

2017-12-01

A transparent conductive electrode (TCE) based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was developed using a dry deposition method for application as an electrochromic (EC) device. To improve its electrical conductivity and stable EC performance, AgNW and TiO2 nanoparticles were included in the TCE film. The resulting TiO2/AgNW/PEDOT:PSS hybrid film showed electrical sheet resistivity of 23 Ω/sq., similar to that of a commercial TCE film. When +2.0 V was applied to the hybrid film, the response current was stable, maintaining a value of 2.0 mA. We found that the hybrid film could be used as an EC device, without using commercial TCE film. Antimony-doped tin oxide on indium-doped tin oxide-glass as an ion-storage layer was combined with the hybrid film, with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMIM-TFSI) injected into the EC device as an ionic liquid electrolyte. The optical transmittance difference between the colored and bleached states was 23% at 630 nm; under applied voltages of -2.0 V and +2.0 V, the coloration efficiency was 127.83 cm2/C. Moreover, cyclic transmittance with switching voltage for 3 h showed stable optical transmittance of 31% at 630 nm. Cyclic voltammetry measurements indicated stable behavior over 50 cycles. Thus, the proposed TCE configuration (TiO2/AgNW/PEDOT:PSS) shows great potential as a substitute for commercial TCEs, the cost of which depends on the availability of rare-earth materials.

Structure-Property Relationships in Amorphous Transparent Conducting Oxides

Science.gov (United States)

Moffitt, Stephanie Lucille

Over the last 20 years a new field of amorphous transparent conducting oxides (a-TCOs) has developed. The amorphous nature of these films makes them well suited for large area applications. In addition, a-TCOs can be made at low temperatures and through solution processing methods. These assets provide promising opportunities to improve applications such as solar cells and back-lit displays where traditional crystalline TCOs are used. In addition, it opens the door for new technological applications including the possibility for transparent, flexible electronics. Despite the recent growth in this field, fundamental understanding of the true nature of conductivity and the amorphous structure in this materials system is still progressing. To develop a greater understanding of a-TCOs, structure-property relationships were developed in the a-IGO and a-IZO systems. From the combination of element-specific local structure studies and liquid quench molecular dynamics simulations it is clear that a degree of structure remains in a-TCOs. By understanding this structure, the effect of gallium on thermal stability, carrier concentration and carrier mobility is understood. The source of charge carriers in a-IZO is identified as oxygen vacancies through the application of in situ Brouwer analysis. The continued development of the Brouwer analysis technique for use in amorphous oxides adds to the available methods for studying defects in amorphous systems. Finally, the foundational knowledge gained from the in-depth study of a-IGO was extended to understand the role of combustion processing and pulsed laser deposition as growth methods for transistors based on a-IGO.

Transparent conducting zinc oxide thin film prepared by off-axis rf ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Highly conducting and transparent ZnO : Al thin films were grown by off-axis rf magnetron sputtering on amorphous silica substrates without any post-deposition annealing. The electrical and optical properties of the films deposited at various substrate temperatures and target to substrate distances were investigated in detail ...

Ultraviolet laser crystallized ZnO:Al films on sapphire with high Hall mobility for simultaneous enhancement of conductivity and transparency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nian, Qiong; Zhang, Martin Y.; Schwartz, Bradley D.; Cheng, Gary J.

2014-01-01

One of the most challenging issues in transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) is to improve their conductivity without compromising transparency. High conductivity in TCO films often comes from a high carrier concentration, which is detrimental to transparency due to free carrier absorption. Here we show that UV laser crystallization (UVLC) of aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) films prepared by pulsed laser deposition on sapphire results in much higher Hall mobility, allowing relaxation of the constraints of the conductivity/transparency trade-off. X-ray diffraction patterns and morphological characterizations show grain growth and crystallinity enhancement during UVLC, resulting in less film internal imperfections. Optoelectronic measurements show that UVLC dramatically improves the electron mobility, while the carrier concentration decreases which in turn simultaneously increases conductivity and transparency. AZO films under optimized UVLC achieve the highest electron mobility of 79 cm 2 /V s at a low carrier concentration of 7.9 × 10 +19  cm −3 . This is realized by a laser crystallization induced decrease of both grain boundary density and electron trap density at grain boundaries. The infrared (IR) to mid-IR range transmittance spectrum shows UVLC significantly enhances the AZO film transparency without compromising conductivity.

Hollow Few-Layer Graphene-Based Structures from Parafilm Waste for Flexible Transparent Supercapacitors and Oil Spill Cleanup.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Duc Dung; Hsieh, Ping-Yen; Tsai, Meng-Ting; Lee, Chi-Young; Tai, Nyan-Hwa; To, Bao Dong; Vu, Duc Tu; Hsu, Chia Chen

2017-11-22

We report a versatile strategy to exploit parafilm waste as a carbon precursor for fabrication of freestanding, hollow few-layer graphene fiber mesh (HFGM) structures without use of any gaseous carriers/promoters via an annealing route. The freestanding HFGMs possess good mechanical flexibility, tailorable transparency, and high electrical conductivity, consequently qualifying them as promising electrochemical electrodes. Because of the hollow spaces, electrolyte ions can easily access into and contact with interior surfaces of the graphene fibers, accordingly increasing electrode/electrolyte interfacial area. As expected, solid-state supercapacitors based on the HFGMs exhibit a considerable enhancement in specific capacitance (20-30 fold) as compared to those employing chemical vapor deposition compact graphene films. Moreover, the parafilm waste is found to be beneficial for one-step fabrication of nanocarbon/few-layer graphene composite meshes with superior electrochemical performance, outstanding superhydrophobic property, good self-cleaning ability, and great promise for oil spill cleanup.

Development of ZnO:Al-based transparent contacts deposited at low-temperature by RF-sputtering on InN layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fernandez, S. [Departamento de Energias Renovables, Energia Solar Fotovoltaica, Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas (CIEMAT), Avda. Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Naranjo, F.B.; Valdueza-Felip, S. [Grupo de Ingenieria Fotonica, Departamento de Electronica, Escuela Politecnica Superior, Universidad de Alcala Campus Universitario, 28871 Alcala de Henares, Madrid (Spain); Abril, O. de [ISOM and Departamento de Fisica Aplicada, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicacion, Universidad Politenica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

2012-03-15

Nitride semiconductors (Al,Ga,In)N attain material properties that make them suitable for photovoltaic and optoelectronics devices to be used in hard environments. These properties include an energy gap continuously tuneable within the energy range of the solar spectrum, a high radiation resistance and thermal stability. The developing of efficient devices requires contacts with low resistivity and high transmittance in visible region. ZnO:Al (AZO) emerges as a feasible candidate for transparent contact to nitride semiconductors, taking advantage of its low resistivity, high transparency in visible wavelengths and a very low lattice mismatch with respect to nitride semiconductors. This work presents a study of the applications of AZO films deposited at low-temperature by RF magnetron sputtering as transparent contact for InN layers. The optimization of AZO conditions deposition lead to the obtaining of contacts which shows an ohmic behaviour for the as-deposited layer, regardless the thickness of the ZnO:Al contact layer. Specific contact resistances of 1.6 {omega}.cm{sup 2} were achieved for the contact with 90 nm thick ZnO:Al layer without any post-deposition treatment (copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Copper Nanowires and Their Applications for Flexible, Transparent Conducting Films: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vu Binh Nam

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Cu nanowires (NWs are attracting considerable attention as alternatives to Ag NWs for next-generation transparent conductors, replacing indium tin oxide (ITO and micro metal grids. Cu NWs hold great promise for low-cost fabrication via a solution-processed route and show preponderant optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. In this study, we report a summary of recent advances in research on Cu NWs, covering the optoelectronic properties, synthesis routes, deposition methods to fabricate flexible transparent conducting films, and their potential applications. This review also examines the approaches on protecting Cu NWs from oxidation in air environments.

Highly Conductive, Transparent Flexible Films Based on Metal Nanoparticle-Carbon Nanotube Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Yin Ko

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Metallic nanoparticles decorated on MWCNTs based transparent conducting thin films (TCFs show a cheap and efficient option for the applications in touch screens and the replacement of the ITO film because of their interesting properties of electrical conductivity, mechanical property, chemical inertness, and other unique properties, which may not be accessible by their individual components. However, a great challenge that always remains is to develop effective ways to prepare junctions between metallic nanoparticles and MWCNTs for the improvement of high-energy barriers, high contact resistances, and weak interactions which could lead to the formation of poor conducting pathways and result in the CNT-based devices with low mechanical flexibility. Herein, we not only discuss recent progress in the preparation of MNP-CNT flexible TCFs but also describe our research studies in the relevant areas. Our result demonstrated that the MNP-CNT flexible TCFs we prepared could achieve a highly electrical conductivity with the sheet resistance of ~100 ohm/sq with ~80% transmittance at 550 nm even after being bent 500 times. This electrical conductivity is much superior to the performances of other MWCNT-based transparent flexible films, making it favorable for next-generation flexible touch screens and optoelectronic devices.

High efficiency bifacial Cu2ZnSnSe4 thin-film solar cells on transparent conducting oxide glass substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jung-Sik Kim

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this work, transparent conducting oxides (TCOs have been employed as a back contact instead of Mo on Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe thin-film solar cells in order to examine the feasibility of bifacial Cu2ZnSn(S,Se4 (CZTSSe solar cells based on a vacuum process. It is found that the interfacial reaction between flourine doped tin oxide (FTO or indium tin oxide (ITO and the CZTSe precursor is at odds with the conventional CZTSe/Mo reaction. While there is no interfacial reaction on CZTSe/FTO, indium in CZTSe/ITO was significantly diffused into the CZTSe layers; consequently, a SnO2 layer was formed on the ITO substrate. Under bifacial illumination, we achieved a power efficiency of 6.05% and 4.31% for CZTSe/FTO and CZTSe/ITO, respectively.

Development and applications of transparent conductive nanocellulose paper

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shaohui; Lee, Pooi See

2017-12-01

Increasing attention has been paid to the next generation of 'green' electronic devices based on renewable nanocellulose, owing to its low roughness, good thermal stability and excellent optical properties. Various proof-of-concept transparent nanopaper-based electronic devices have been fabricated; these devices exhibit excellent flexibility, bendability and even foldability. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of transparent nanopaper that uses different types of nanocellulose, including pure nanocellulose paper and composite nanocellulose paper. The latest development of transparent and flexible nanopaper electronic devices are illustrated, such as electrochromic devices, touch sensors, solar cells and transistors. Finally, we discuss the advantages of transparent nanopaper compared to conventional flexible plastic substrate and the existing challenges to be tackled in order to realize this promising potential.

Development and applications of transparent conductive nanocellulose paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shaohui; Lee, Pooi See

2017-01-01

Increasing attention has been paid to the next generation of 'green' electronic devices based on renewable nanocellulose, owing to its low roughness, good thermal stability and excellent optical properties. Various proof-of-concept transparent nanopaper-based electronic devices have been fabricated; these devices exhibit excellent flexibility, bendability and even foldability. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of transparent nanopaper that uses different types of nanocellulose, including pure nanocellulose paper and composite nanocellulose paper. The latest development of transparent and flexible nanopaper electronic devices are illustrated, such as electrochromic devices, touch sensors, solar cells and transistors. Finally, we discuss the advantages of transparent nanopaper compared to conventional flexible plastic substrate and the existing challenges to be tackled in order to realize this promising potential.

Activation of visible up-conversion luminescence in transparent and conducting ZnO:Er:Yb films by laser annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lluscà, M.; López-Vidrier, J.; Lauzurica, S.; Sánchez-Aniorte, M.I.; Antony, A.; Molpeceres, C.; Hernández, S.; Garrido, B.; Bertomeu, J.

2015-01-01

Transparent and conducting ZnO:Er:Yb thin films with visible up-conversion (660-nm emission under 980-nm excitation) were fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering. The as-deposited films were found to be transparent and conducting and the activation of the Er ions in these films to produce up-conversion luminescence was achieved by different post-deposition annealing treatments in air, vacuum or by laser annealing using a Nd:YVO 4 laser. The structural, electrical and optical properties and the up-conversion efficiency of these films were found to be strongly influenced by the annealing method, and a detailed study is reported in this paper. It has been demonstrated that, although the air annealing was the most efficient in terms of up-conversion, laser annealing was the only method capable of activating Er ions while preserving the electrical conductivity of the doped films. It has been shown that a minimum energy was needed in laser annealing to optically activate the rare earth ions in the ZnO host material to produce up-conversion. Up-converting and transparent conducting ZnO:Er:Yb films with an electrical resistivity of 5×10 −2 Ω cm and transparency ~80% in the visible wavelength range has been achieved by laser annealing. - Highlights: • Transparent and conducting ZnO:Er:Yb films were grown via magnetron sputtering. • Post-annealing ZnO:Er:Yb is needed to optically activate Er ions. • Visible up-conversion emission at 660 nm is observed under 980 nm excitation. • A transparent and conducting up-converter is achieved by laser annealing

A study on effective thermal conductivity of crystalline layers in layer melt crystallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kwang-Joo; Ulrich, Joachim

2002-01-01

An effective thermal conductivity in layer melt crystallization was explored based on a model considering inclusions inside a crystalline layer during crystal growth, molecular diffusion of inclusions migration due to temperature gradient and heat generation due to recrystallization of inclusions in the crystalline layer. The effective thermal conductivity increases with time, in general, as a result of compactness of the layer. Lower cooling temperature, i.e. greater supercooling, results in a more porous layer with lower effective thermal conductivity. A similar result is seen for the parameter of melt temperature, but less pronounced. A high concentration of the melt results in a high effective thermal conductivity while low concentration yields low effective thermal conductivity. At higher impurity levels in the melt phase, constitutional supercooling becomes more pronounced and unstable growth morphologies occur more easily. Cooling rate and Reynolds number also affect the effective thermal conductivity. The predictions of an effective thermal conductivity agree with the experimental data. The model was applied to estimate the thermal conductivities of the crystalline layer during layer melt crystallization. (author)

Origin of high photoconductive gain in fully transparent heterojunction nanocrystalline oxide image sensors and interconnects.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeon, Sanghun; Song, Ihun; Lee, Sungsik; Ryu, Byungki; Ahn, Seung-Eon; Lee, Eunha; Kim, Young; Nathan, Arokia; Robertson, John; Chung, U-In

2014-11-05

A technique for invisible image capture using a photosensor array based on transparent conducting oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors and transparent interconnection technologies is presented. A transparent conducting layer is employed for the sensor electrodes as well as interconnection in the array, providing about 80% transmittance at visible-light wavelengths. The phototransistor is a Hf-In-Zn-O/In-Zn-O heterostructure yielding a high quantum-efficiency in the visible range. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Control of thickness uniformity and grain size in graphene films for transparent conductive electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Wei; Yu Qingkai; Pei, Shin-Shem; Peng Peng; Bao Jiming; Liu Zhihong

2012-01-01

Large-scale and transferable graphene films grown on metal substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) still hold great promise for future nanotechnology. To realize the promise, one of the key issues is to further improve the quality of graphene, e.g., uniform thickness, large grain size, and low defects. Here we grow graphene films on Cu foils by CVD at ambient pressure, and study the graphene nucleation and growth processes under different concentrations of carbon precursor. On the basis of the results, we develop a two-step ambient pressure CVD process to synthesize continuous single-layer graphene films with large grain size (up to hundreds of square micrometers). Scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy characterizations confirm the film thickness and uniformity. The transferred graphene films on cover glass slips show high electrical conductivity and high optical transmittance that make them suitable as transparent conductive electrodes. The growth mechanism of CVD graphene on Cu is also discussed, and a growth model has been proposed. Our results provide important guidance toward the synthesis of high quality uniform graphene films, and could offer a great driving force for graphene based applications. (paper)

Transparent thin-film transistor exploratory development via sequential layer deposition and thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, David; Chiang, Hai Q.; Presley, Rick E.; Dehuff, Nicole L.; Bender, Jeffrey P.; Park, Cheol-Hee; Wager, John F.; Keszler, Douglas A.

2006-01-01

A novel deposition methodology is employed for exploratory development of a class of high-performance transparent thin-film transistor (TTFT) channel materials involving oxides composed of heavy-metal cations with (n - 1)d 10 ns 0 (n ≥ 4) electronic configurations. The method involves sequential radio-frequency sputter deposition of thin, single cation oxide layers and subsequent post-deposition annealing in order to obtain a multi-component oxide thin film. The viability of this rapid materials development methodology is demonstrated through the realization of high-performance TTFTs with channel layers composed of zinc oxide/tin oxide, and tin oxide/indium oxide

Highly conductive, transparent flexible films based on open rings of multi-walled carbon nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, Wen-Yin; Su, Jun-Wei; Guo, Chian-Hua; Fu, Shu-Juan; Hsu, Chuen-Yuan; Lin, Kuan-Jiuh

2011-01-01

Open rings of multi-walled carbon nanotubes were stacked to form porous networks on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate to form a flexible conducting film (MWCNT-PET) with good electrical conductivity and transparency by a combination of ultrasonic atomization and spin-coating technique. To enhance the electric flexibility, we spin-coated a cast film of poly(vinyl alcohol) onto the MWCNT-PET substrate, which then underwent a thermo-compression process. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy of the cross-sectional morphology illustrates that the film has a robust network with a thickness of ∼ 175 nm, and it remarkably exhibits a sheet resistance of approximately 370 Ω/sq with ∼ 77% transmittance at 550 nm even after 500 bending cycles. This electrical conductivity is much superior to that of other MWCNT-based transparent flexible films.

Novel transparent conducting oxide technology for solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bishop, P.T.; Sutton, P.A.; Gardener, M.; Wakefield, G.

2005-07-01

This report outlines the development of both n- and p-type transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) materials and the demonstrated feasibility of economic production of TCO films by deposition techniques. Descriptions are given of the four main tasks of the project with Task A concentrating on material design and synthesis covering the new precursor to zinc oxide thin films and selection of polymers for formulation; Task B dealing with film formation involving film deposition by spin coating, screen printing, inkjet printing, dip coating and chemical vapour deposition; Task C concerning performance evaluation; and Task D examining manufacturing process development. The prospects for commercialisation are explored and recommendation for future work are considered.

Development and applications of transparent conductive nanocellulose paper

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shaohui; Lee, Pooi See

2017-01-01

Abstract Increasing attention has been paid to the next generation of ‘green’ electronic devices based on renewable nanocellulose, owing to its low roughness, good thermal stability and excellent optical properties. Various proof-of-concept transparent nanopaper-based electronic devices have been fabricated; these devices exhibit excellent flexibility, bendability and even foldability. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of transparent nanopaper that uses different types of nanocellulose, including pure nanocellulose paper and composite nanocellulose paper. The latest development of transparent and flexible nanopaper electronic devices are illustrated, such as electrochromic devices, touch sensors, solar cells and transistors. Finally, we discuss the advantages of transparent nanopaper compared to conventional flexible plastic substrate and the existing challenges to be tackled in order to realize this promising potential. PMID:28970870

Transparent conductive zinc oxide basics and applications in thin film solar cells

CERN Document Server

Klein, Andreas; Rech, Bernd

2008-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) belongs to the class of transparent conducting oxides which can be used as transparent electrodes in electronic devices or heated windows. In this book the material properties of, the deposition technologies for, and applications of zinc oxide in thin film solar cells are described in a comprehensive manner. Structural, morphological, optical and electronic properties of ZnO are treated in this review. The editors and authors of this book are specialists in deposition, analysis and fabrication of thin-film solar cells and especially of ZnO. This book is intended as an overview and a data collection for students, engineers and scientist.

Innovative transparent armour concepts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carton, E.P.; Broos, J.P.F.

2011-01-01

Ever since WWII transparent armour consists of a multi-layer of glass panels bonded by thin polymer bond-films using an autoclave process. TNO has worked on the development of innovative transparent armour concepts that are lighter and a have better multi-hit capacity. Two new transparent armour

Preparation of transparent conductive indium tin oxide thin films from nanocrystalline indium tin hydroxide by dip-coating method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koroesi, Laszlo; Papp, Szilvia; Dekany, Imre

2011-01-01

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films with well-controlled layer thickness were produced by dip-coating method. The ITO was synthesized by a sol-gel technique involving the use of aqueous InCl 3 , SnCl 4 and NH 3 solutions. To obtain stable sols for thin film preparation, as-prepared Sn-doped indium hydroxide was dialyzed, aged, and dispersed in ethanol. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was applied to enhance the stability of the resulting ethanolic sols. The transparent, conductive ITO films on glass substrates were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The ITO layer thickness increased linearly during the dipping cycles, which permits excellent controllability of the film thickness in the range ∼ 40-1160 nm. After calcination at 550 o C, the initial indium tin hydroxide films were transformed completely to nanocrystalline ITO with cubic and rhombohedral structure. The effects of PVP on the optical, morphological and electrical properties of ITO are discussed.

Atomic layer deposition grown composite dielectric oxides and ZnO for transparent electronic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gieraltowska, S.; Wachnicki, L.; Witkowski, B.S.; Godlewski, M.; Guziewicz, E.

2012-01-01

In this paper, we report on transparent transistor obtained using laminar structure of two high-k dielectric oxides (hafnium dioxide, HfO 2 and aluminum oxide, Al 2 O 3 ) and zinc oxide (ZnO) layer grown at low temperature (60 °C–100 °C) using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technology. Our research was focused on the optimization of technological parameters for composite layers Al 2 O 3 /HfO 2 /Al 2 O 3 for thin film transistor structures with ZnO as a channel and a gate layer. We elaborate on the ALD growth of these oxides, finding that the 100 nm thick layers of HfO 2 and Al 2 O 3 exhibit fine surface flatness and required amorphous microstructure. Growth parameters are optimized for the monolayer growth mode and maximum smoothness required for gating.

Preparation of smooth, flexible and stable silver nanowires- polyurethane composite transparent conductive films by transfer method

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Shengchi; Wang, Haifeng; Yang, Hui; Zhang, He; Guo, Xingzhong

2018-02-01

Silver nanowires (AgNWs)-polyurethane (PU) composite transparent conductive films were fabricated via transfer method using AgNWs conductive inks and polyurethane as starting materials, and the effects of post-treatments including heat treatment, NaCl solution bath and HCl solution bath for AgNWs film on the sheet resistance and transmittance of the composite films were respectively investigated in detail. AgNWs networks are uniformly embedded in the PU layer to improve the adhesion and reduce the surface roughness of AgNWs-PU composite films. Heat treatment can melt and weld the nanowires, and NaCl and HCl solution baths promote the dissolution and re-deposition of silver and the dissolving of the polymer, both which form conduction pathways and improve contact of AgNWs for reducing the sheet resistance. Smooth and flexible AgNWs-PU composite film with a transmittance of 85% and a sheet resistance of 15 Ω · sq‑1 is obtained after treated in 0.5 wt% HCl solution bath for 60 s, and the optoelectronic properties of the resultant composite film can maintain after 1000 cycles of bending and 100 days.

Laser Processing of Carbon Nanotube Transparent Conducting Films

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Andrew

Transparent conducting films, or TCFs, are 2D electrical conductors with the ability to transmit light. Because of this, they are used in many popular electronics including smart phones, tablets, solar panels, and televisions. The most common material used as a TCF is indium tin oxide, or ITO. Although ITO has great electrical and optical characteristics, it is expensive, brittle, and difficult to pattern. These limitations have led researchers toward other materials for the next generation of displays and touch panels. The most promising material for next generation TCFs is carbon nanotubes, or CNTs. CNTs are cylindrical tubes of carbon no more than a few atoms thick. They have different electrical and optical properties depending on their atomic structure, and are extremely strong. As an electrode, they conduct electricity through an array of randomly dispersed tubes. The array is highly transparent because of gaps between the tubes, and size and optical properties of the CNTs. Many research groups have tried making CNT TCFs with opto-electric properties similar to ITO but have difficultly achieving high conductivity. This is partly attributed to impurities from fabrication and a mix of different tube types, but is mainly caused by low junction conductivity. In functionalized nanotubes, junction conductivity is impaired by covalently bonded molecules added to the sidewalls of the tubes. The addition of this molecule, known as functionalization, is designed to facilitate CNT dispersion in a solvent by adding properties of the molecule to the CNTs. While necessary for a good solution, functionalization decreases the conductivity in the CNT array by creating defects in the tube's structures and preventing direct inter-carbon bonding. This research investigates removing the functional coating (after tube deposition) by laser processing. Laser light is able to preferentially heat the CNTs because of their optical and electrical properties. Through local conduction

High performance flexible metal oxide/silver nanowire based transparent conductive films by a scalable lamination-assisted solution method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hua Yu

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Flexible MoO3/silver nanowire (AgNW/MoO3/TiO2/Epoxy electrodes with comparable performance to ITO were fabricated by a scalable solution-processed method with lamination assistance for transparent and conductive applications. Silver nanoparticle-based electrodes were also prepared for comparison. Using a simple spin-coating and lamination-assisted planarization method, a full solution-based approach allows preparation of AgNW-based composite electrodes at temperatures as low as 140 °C. The resulting flexible AgNW-based electrodes exhibit higher transmittance of 82% at 550 nm and lower sheet resistance about 12–15 Ω sq−1, in comparison with the values of 68% and 22–25 Ω sq−1 separately for AgNP based electrodes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM and Atomic force microscopy (AFM reveals that the multi-stacked metal-oxide layers embedded with the AgNWs possess lower surface roughness (<15 nm. The AgNW/MoO3 composite network could enhance the charge transport and collection efficiency by broadening the lateral conduction range due to the built of an efficient charge transport network with long-sized nanowire. In consideration of the manufacturing cost, the lamination-assisted solution-processed method is cost-effective and scalable, which is desire for large-area fabrication. While in view of the materials cost and comparable performance, this AgNW-based transparent and conductive electrodes is potential as an alternative to ITO for various optoelectronic applications.

Superior thermal conductivity of transparent polymer nanocomposites with a crystallized alumina membrane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Poostforush

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The properties of novel thermoconductive and optically transparent nanocomposites have been reported. The composites were prepared by the impregnation of thermoset resin into crystallized anodic aluminum oxide (AAO. Crystallized AAO synthesized by annealing amorphous AAO membrane at 1200°C. Although through-plane thermal conductivity of nanocomposites improved up to 1.13 W•m–1•K–1 (39 vol% alumina but their transparency was preserved (Tλ550 nm ~ 72%. Integrated annealed alumina phase, low refractive index mismatch between resin and alumina and formation of nano-optical fibers through the membrane resulted in such marvel combination. This report shows a great potential of these types of nanocomposites in ‘heat management’ of lightening devices.

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaianella, F.; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B.

2015-01-01

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Vaianella, F.; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B.

2015-06-01

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles.

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaianella, F., E-mail: Fabio.Vaianella@umons.ac.be; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B. [Micro- and Nanophotonic Materials Group, Faculty of Science, University of Mons, 20 place du Parc, B-7000 Mons (Belgium)

2015-06-28

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles.

Transparent Conducting Films with Multilayered Structures Formed by Carbon Nanotubes and Reduced Graphene Oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Jie Hun; Jang, Hyun Chul; Choi, Jung Mi; Hyeon, Jae Young; Sok, Jung Hyun

2014-01-01

The replacement for indium tin oxide (ITO) in electronic displays should have comparable optical transmittance and electrical conductivity while being easy to source and manufacture. However, novel materials such as single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and reduced graphene oxides (RGOs) are incapable of addressing these challenges. We demonstrate a simple method to fabricate good transparent conductive films (TCFs) by combining and leveraging the superior optical transparency of RGOs and the excellent electrical conductivity of SWCNTs. This method affords thin multilayers of SWCNTs and RGOs with excellent optical and electrical properties because these properties are correlated with spraying time and the amount of SWCNTs or RGOs. In general, transmittance is advantageous to RGO as conductance is to CNTs. With a view to finding good TCFs with reduced sheet resistance, but with little sacrifice of transmittance, it is natural to explore the combination of CNT and RGO. The sandwiched multilayer of SWCNTs and RGOs exhibited a low sheet resistance of 214.2 Ω/sq, which was comparable to that of SWCNTs, and a transmittance of 60% at a wavelength of 550 nm. To further reduce the sheet resistance and improve the transparency of the multilayer TCFs, Au doping was carried out. The doping, in combination with controlled spraying of the amount of SWCNTs and RGOs, led to multilayers with resistance/transmittance combinations of 141.3 Ω/sq and 70% and 371.5 Ω/sq and 83%. These properties meet the requisite criteria for an ITO replacement.

Transparent conductive oxides and alternative transparent electrodes for organic photovoltaics and OLEDs; Transparente leitfaehige Elektroden. Oxide und alternative Materialien fuer die organische Photovoltaik und OLEDs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller-Meskamp, Lars; Sachse, Christoph; Kim, Yong Hyun; Furno, Mauro [Technische Univ. Dresden (DE). Inst. fuer Angewandte Photophysik (IAPP); May, Christian [Fraunhofer Institut fuer Photonische Mikrosysteme (IPMS), Dresden (Germany); Leo, Karl [Technische Univ. Dresden (DE). Inst. fuer Angewandte Photophysik (IAPP); Fraunhofer Institut fuer Photonische Mikrosysteme (IPMS), Dresden (Germany)

2012-08-15

Organic, photoactive devices, such as OLEDs or organic solar cells, currently use indium tin oxide (ITO) as transparent electrode. Whereas ITO is industry-proven for many years and shows very good electrical and optical properties, its application for low-cost and flexible devices might not be optimal. For such applications innovative technologies such as network-based metal nanowire or carbon nanotube electrodes, graphene, conductive polymers, metal thin-films and alternative transparent conductive oxides emerge. Although some of these technologies are rather experimental and far from application, some of them have the potential to replace ITO in selected applications. (orig.)

Plasmonic transparent conductors

Science.gov (United States)

Liapis, Andreas C.; Sfeir, Matthew Y.; Black, Charles T.

2016-09-01

Many of today's technological applications, such as solar cells, light-emitting diodes, displays, and touch screens, require materials that are simultaneously optically transparent and electrically conducting. Here we explore transparent conductors based on the excitation of surface plasmons in nanostructured metal films. We measure both the optical and electrical properties of films perforated with nanometer-scale features and optimize the design parameters in order to maximize optical transmission without sacrificing electrical conductivity. We demonstrate that plasmonic transparent conductors can out-perform indium tin oxide in terms of both their transparency and their conductivity.

Stable iodide doping induced by photonic curing for carbon nanotube transparent conductive films

Science.gov (United States)

Wachi, Atsushi; Nishikawa, Hiroyuki; Zhou, Ying; Azumi, Reiko

2018-06-01

Doping has become crucial for achieving stable and high-performance conductive transparent carbon nanotube (CNT) films. In this study, we systematically investigate the doping effects of a few materials including alkali metal iodides, nonmetal iodide, and metals. We demonstrate that photonic curing can enhance the doping effects, and correspondingly improve the conductivity of CNT films, and that such iodides have better doping effects than metals. In particular, doping with a nonmetal compound (NH4I) shows the largest potential to improve the conductivity of CNT films. Typically, doping with metal iodides reduces the sheet resistance (R S) of CNT films with 70–80% optical transmittances at λ = 550 nm from 600–2400 to 250–440 Ω/square, whereas doping with NH4I reduces R S to 57 and 84 Ω/square at 74 and 84% optical transmittances, respectively. Interestingly, such a doped CNT film exhibits only a slight increase in sheet resistance under an extreme environment of high temperature (85 °C) and high relative humidity (85%) for 350 h. The results suggest that photonic-curing-induced iodide doping is a promising approach to producing high-performance conductive transparent CNT films.

Uniformly embedded silver nanomesh as highly bendable transparent conducting electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Hak-Jong; Choo, Soyoung; Jung, Pil-Hoon; Shin, Ju-Hyeon; Kim, Yang-Doo; Lee, Heon

2015-01-01

Ag-nanomesh-based highly bendable conducting electrodes are developed using a combination of metal nanotransfer printing and embossing for the 6-inch wafer scale. Two Ag nanomeshes, including pitch sizes of 7.5 and 10 μm, are used to obtain highly transparent (approximately 85% transmittance at a wavelength of 550 nm) and electrically conducting properties (below 10 Ω sq −1 ). The Ag nanomeshes are also distinguished according to the fabrication process, which is called transferred or embedded Ag nanomesh on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, in order to compare their stability against bending stress. Then the enhancement of bending stability when the Ag nanomesh is embedded in the PET substrate is confirmed. (paper)

Uniformly embedded silver nanomesh as highly bendable transparent conducting electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Hak-Jong; Choo, Soyoung; Jung, Pil-Hoon; Shin, Ju-Hyeon; Kim, Yang-Doo; Lee, Heon

2015-02-01

Ag-nanomesh-based highly bendable conducting electrodes are developed using a combination of metal nanotransfer printing and embossing for the 6-inch wafer scale. Two Ag nanomeshes, including pitch sizes of 7.5 and 10 μm, are used to obtain highly transparent (approximately 85% transmittance at a wavelength of 550 nm) and electrically conducting properties (below 10 Ω sq-1). The Ag nanomeshes are also distinguished according to the fabrication process, which is called transferred or embedded Ag nanomesh on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, in order to compare their stability against bending stress. Then the enhancement of bending stability when the Ag nanomesh is embedded in the PET substrate is confirmed.

A simple and flexible route to large-area conductive transparent graphene thin-films

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arapov, K.; Goryachev, A.; With, de G.; Friedrich, H.

2015-01-01

Solution-processed conductive, flexible and transparent graphene thin films continue drawing attention from science and technology due to their potential for many electrical applications. Here, an up-scalable method for the solution processing of graphite to graphene and further to self-assembled

Fabrication of transparent, tough, and conductive shape-memory polyurethane films by incorporating a small amount of high-quality graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Yong Chae; Kim, Jin Hee; Hayashi, Takuya; Kim, Yoong Ahm; Endo, Morinobu; Terrones, Mauricio; Dresselhaus, Mildred S

2012-04-23

We report a mechanically strong, electrically and thermally conductive, and optically transparent shape-memory polyurethane composite which was fabricated by introducing a small amount (0.1 wt%) of high-quality graphene as a filler. Geometrically large (≈4.6 μm(2)), but highly crystallized few-layer graphenes, verified by Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, were prepared by the sonication of expandable graphite in an organic solvent. Oxygen- containing functional groups at the edge plane of graphene were crucial for an effective stress transfer from the graphene to polyurethane. Homogeneously dispersed few-layered graphene enabled polyurethane to have a high shape recovery force of 1.8 MPa cm(-3). Graphene, which is intrinsically stretchable up to 10%, will enable high-performance composites to be fabricated at relatively low cost and we thus envisage that such composites may replace carbon nanotubes for various applications in the near future. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Facile Preparation of Carbon-Nanotube-based 3-Dimensional Transparent Conducting Networks for Flexible Noncontact Sensing Device

KAUST Repository

Tai, Yanlong; Lubineau, Gilles

2016-01-01

Here, we report the controllable fabrication of transparent conductive films (TCFs) for moisture-sensing applications based on heating-rate-triggered, 3-dimensional porous conducting networks of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)/poly(3

Highly tough and transparent layered composites of nanocellulose and synthetic silicate

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chun-Nan; Yang, Quanling; Takeuchi, Miyuki; Saito, Tsuguyuki; Isogai, Akira

2013-12-01

A highly tough and transparent film material was prepared from synthetic saponite (SPN) nanoplatelets of low aspect ratios and nanofibrillar cellulose. The nanofibrillar cellulose was chemically modified by topological surface oxidation using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxyl (TEMPO) as a catalyst. Both synthetic SPN nanoplatelets and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNs) have abundant negative charges in high densities on their surfaces and are dispersed in water at the individual nanoelement level. Layered nanocomposite structures of the SPN nanoplatelets and TOCNs were formed through a simple cast-drying process of the mixed aqueous dispersions. The TOCN/SPN composites with 0-50% w/w SPN content were optically transparent. Mechanical properties of the TOCN/SPN composites varied depending on the SPN content. The composite with 10% w/w SPN content (5.6% volume fraction) exhibited characteristic mechanical properties: Young's modulus of 14 GPa, tensile strength of 420 MPa, and strain-to-failure of 10%. The work of fracture of the composites increased from 4 to 30 MJ m-3 - or by more than 700% - as the SPN content was increased from 0 to 10% w/w. This surprising improvement in toughness was interpreted based on a model for fracture of polymer composites reinforced with low-aspect-ratio platelets.A highly tough and transparent film material was prepared from synthetic saponite (SPN) nanoplatelets of low aspect ratios and nanofibrillar cellulose. The nanofibrillar cellulose was chemically modified by topological surface oxidation using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxyl (TEMPO) as a catalyst. Both synthetic SPN nanoplatelets and TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (TOCNs) have abundant negative charges in high densities on their surfaces and are dispersed in water at the individual nanoelement level. Layered nanocomposite structures of the SPN nanoplatelets and TOCNs were formed through a simple cast-drying process of the mixed aqueous dispersions. The

Plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition of TiO2 compact layers for flexible mesostructured perovskite solar cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zardetto, V.; Di Giacomo, F.; Lucarelli, G.; Kessels, W.M.M.; Brown, T.M.; Creatore, M.

2017-01-01

In mesostructured perovskite solar cell devices, charge recombination processes at the interface between the transparent conductive oxide, perovskite and hole transport layer are suppressed by depositing an efficient compact TiO2 blocking layer. In this contribution we investigate the role of the

Experimental Study on Fabrication of AZO Transparent Electrode for Organic Solar Cell Using Selective Low-Temperature Atomic Layer Deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kicheol; Song, Gensoo; Kim, Hyungtae; Yoo, Kyunghoon; Kang, Jeongjin; Hwang, Junyoung; Lee, Sangho; Kang, Kyungtae; Kang, Heuiseok; Cho, Youngjune

2013-01-01

AZO (aluminum-doped zinc oxide) is one of the best candidate materials to replace Into (indium tin oxide) for TKOs (transparent conductive oxides) used in flat panel displays, organic light-emitting diodes (OLDS), and organic solar cells (OCSS). In the present study, to apply an AZO thin film to the transparent electrode of an organic solar cell, a low temperature selective atomic layer deposition (ALD) process was adopted to deposit an AZO thin film on a flexible polyethylene-naphthanate (Pen) substrate. The reactive gases for the ALD process were di-ethyl-zinc (De) and tri-methylaluminum (Tma) as precursors and H 2 O as an oxidant. The structural, electrical, and optical characteristics of the AZO thin film were evaluated. From the measured results of the electrical and optical characteristics of the AZO thin films deposited on the Pen substrates by Ald, it was shown that the Azo thin film appeared to be comparable to a commercially used Into thin film, which confirmed the feasibility of AZO as a TCO for flexible organic solar cells in the near future

VO{sub x} effectively doping CVD-graphene for transparent conductive films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ji, Qinghua; Shi, Liangjing [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Zhang, Qinghong [State Key Laboratory of Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Material Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai 201620 (China); Wang, Weiqi; Zheng, Huifeng [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Zhang, Yuzhi [The Key Laboratory of Inorganic Coating Materials, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences,1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Liu, Yangqiao, E-mail: yqliu@mail.sic.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Sun, Jing, E-mail: jingsun@mail.sic.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramics and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China)

2016-11-30

Highlights: • Doping process operated easily. • Sheet resistance decreased efficiently after doping. • Sheet resistance of doped graphene is stable after exposed in the air. • Mechanism of doping process is studied. - Abstract: Chemical vapor deposition(CVD)-synthesized graphene is potentially an alternative for tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) transparent conductive films (TCFs), however its sheet resistance is still too high to meet many demands. Vanadium oxide has been widely applied as smart window materials, however, no study has been reported to use it as dopant to improve the conductivity of graphene TCFs. In this study, we firstly reported that VO{sub x} doping can effectively lower the sheet resistance of CVD-graphene films while keeping its good optical properties, whose transmittance is as high as 86–90%. The optimized VO{sub x}-doped graphene exhibits a sheet resistance as low as 176 Ω/□, which decreases by 56% compared to the undoped graphene films. The doping process is convenient, stable, economical and easy to operate. What is more, VO{sub x} can effectively increase the work function(WF) of the film, making it more appropriate for use in solar cells. The evolution of the VO{sub x} species annealed at different temperatures below 400 °C has been detailed studied for the first time, based on which the doping mechanism is proposed. The prepared VO{sub x} doped graphene is expected to be a promising candidate for transparent conductive film purposes.

Improved Laser Scribing of Transparent Conductive Oxide for Fabrication of Thin-Film Solar Module

Science.gov (United States)

Egorov, F. S.; Kukin, A. V.; Terukov, E. I.; Titov, A. S.

2018-04-01

Nonuniform thickness of the front transparent conductive oxide (TCO) used for fabrication of thin-film solar module (TFSM) based on micromorphic technology affects P1 laser scribing (P1 scribing on the TCO front layer). A method for improvement of the thickness uniformity of the front TCO using modification of the existing system for gas supply of the LPCVD (TCO1200) vacuum setup with the aid of gasdistributing tubes is proposed. The thickness nonuniformity of the deposition procedure is decreased from 15.2 to 11.4% to improve uniformity of the resistance of the front TCO and light-scattering factor of TFSM. In addition, the number of P1 laser scribes with inadmissible resistance of insulation (less than 2 MΩ) is decreased by a factor of 7. A decrease in the amount of melt at the P1 scribe edges leads to an increase in the TFSM shunting resistance by 56 Ω. The TFSM output power is increased by 0.4 W due to improvement of parameters of the front TCO related to application of gas-distributing tubes.

Tunable Broadband Nanocarbon Transparent Conductor by Electrochemical Intercalation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Jiayu; Xu, Yue; Ozdemir, Burak; Xu, Lisha; Sushkov, Andrei B; Yang, Zhi; Yang, Bao; Drew, Dennis; Barone, Veronica; Hu, Liangbing

2017-01-24

Optical transparent and electrical conducting materials with broadband transmission are important for many applications in optoelectronic, telecommunications, and military devices. However, studies of broadband transparent conductors and their controlled modulation are scarce. In this study, we report that reversible transmittance modulation has been achieved with sandwiched nanocarbon thin films (containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO)) via electrochemical alkali-ion intercalation/deintercalation. The transmittance modulation covers a broad range from the visible (450 nm) to the infrared (5 μm), which can be achieved only by rGO rather than pristine graphene films. The large broadband transmittance modulation is understood with DFT calculations, which suggest a decrease in interband transitions in the visible range as well as a reduced reflection in the IR range upon intercalation. We find that a larger interlayer distance in few-layer rGO results in a significant increase in transparency in the infrared region of the spectrum, in agreement with experimental results. Furthermore, a reduced plasma frequency in rGO compared to few-layer graphene is also important to understand the experimental results for broadband transparency in rGO. The broadband transmittance modulation of the CNT/rGO/CNT systems can potentially lead to electrochromic and thermal camouflage applications.

Transparent Ferroelectric Capacitors on Glass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Sette

2017-10-01

Full Text Available We deposited transparent ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate thin films on fused silica and contacted them via Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO transparent electrodes with an interdigitated electrode (IDE design. These layers, together with a TiO2 buffer layer on the fused silica substrate, are highly transparent (>60% in the visible optical range. Fully crystallized Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT films are dielectrically functional and exhibit a typical ferroelectric polarization loop with a remanent polarization of 15 μC/cm2. The permittivity value of 650, obtained with IDE AZO electrodes is equivalent to the one measured with Pt electrodes patterned with the same design, which proves the high quality of the developed transparent structures.

Spray-Deposited Large-Area Copper Nanowire Transparent Conductive Electrodes and Their Uses for Touch Screen Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Hsun-Chen; Chang, Yen-Chen; Lin, Yow; Chang, Shu-Hao; Chang, Wei-Chung; Li, Guo-An; Tuan, Hsing-Yu

2016-05-25

Large-area conducting transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) were prepared by a fast, scalable, and low-cost spray deposition of copper nanowire (CuNW) dispersions. Thin, long, and pure copper nanowires were obtained via the seed-mediated growth in an organic solvent-based synthesis. The mean length and diameter of nanowires are, respectively, 37.7 μm and 46 nm, corresponding to a high-mean-aspect ratio of 790. These wires were spray-deposited onto a glass substrate to form a nanowire conducting network which function as a TCE. CuNW TCEs exhibit high-transparency and high-conductivity since their relatively long lengths are advantageous in lowering in the sheet resistance. For example, a 2 × 2 cm(2) transparent nanowire electrode exhibits transmittance of T = 90% with a sheet resistance as low as 52.7 Ω sq(-1). Large-area sizes (>50 cm(2)) of CuNW TCEs were also prepared by the spray coating method and assembled as resistive touch screens that can be integrated with a variety of devices, including LED lighting array, a computer, electric motors, and audio electronic devices, showing the capability to make diverse sizes and functionalities of CuNW TCEs by the reported method.

Preparation of transparent conducting zinc oxide films by rf reactive sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasanelli, L.; Valentini, A.; Losacco, A.

1986-01-01

Transparent conducting zinc oxide films have been prepared by reactive sputtering in a Ar/H/sub 2/ mixture. The optical and electrical properties of the films are presented and discussed. The effects of some post-deposition thermal treatment have been also investigated. ZnO/CdTe heterojunctions have been prepared by sputtering ZnO films on CdTe single crystals. The photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of the obtained solar cells was 6.8%

Organic photovoltaic cell incorporating electron conducting exciton blocking layers

Science.gov (United States)

Forrest, Stephen R.; Lassiter, Brian E.

2014-08-26

The present disclosure relates to photosensitive optoelectronic devices including a compound blocking layer located between an acceptor material and a cathode, the compound blocking layer including: at least one electron conducting material, and at least one wide-gap electron conducting exciton blocking layer. For example, 3,4,9,10 perylenetetracarboxylic bisbenzimidazole (PTCBI) and 1,4,5,8-napthalene-tetracarboxylic-dianhydride (NTCDA) function as electron conducting and exciton blocking layers when interposed between the acceptor layer and cathode. Both materials serve as efficient electron conductors, leading to a fill factor as high as 0.70. By using an NTCDA/PTCBI compound blocking layer structure increased power conversion efficiency is achieved, compared to an analogous device using a conventional blocking layers shown to conduct electrons via damage-induced midgap states.

A Facile Method for Preparing Transparent, Conductive, and Paper-Like Silver Nanowire Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yajie Wang

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Transparent, conductive, and flexible silver nanowire (AgNW films have been fabricated by a facile two-step method. Firstly, the well-dispersed AgNW suspension is vacuum filtered using mixed esters of cellulose (MCE membranes as filters. Then, the AgNW-MCE films are treated with acetone vapor. After the infiltration of acetone vapor, the white and porous MCE membranes change into transparent and pore-free, and AgNW-MCE films are obtained with extraordinary optical, conductive, and mechanical properties. An optimal result is obtained with transmittance of 85% at 550 nm and sheet resistance about 50 Ohm/sq. The flexibility of AgNW-MCE films is remarkable, which is comparable to that of the AgNW film on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET. More important, AgNW-MCE films show an excellent adhesion to the substrate, which causes a stable electrical conductivity even after scotch tape test and finger friction test. As a result of improved adhesion to the substrate, the sheet resistance of AgNW-MCE films is about 20% smaller than that of AgNW-PET films.

Highly transparent front electrodes with metal fingers for p-i-n thin-film silicon solar cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moulin Etienne

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The optical and electrical properties of transparent conductive oxides (TCOs, traditionally used in thin-film silicon (TF-Si solar cells as front-electrode materials, are interlinked, such that an increase in TCO transparency is generally achieved at the cost of reduced lateral conductance. Combining a highly transparent TCO front electrode of moderate conductance with metal fingers to support charge collection is a well-established technique in wafer-based technologies or for TF-Si solar cells in the substrate (n-i-p configuration. Here, we extend this concept to TF-Si solar cells in the superstrate (p-i-n configuration. The metal fingers are used in conjunction with a millimeter-scale textured foil, attached to the glass superstrate, which provides an antireflective and retroreflective effect; the latter effect mitigates the shadowing losses induced by the metal fingers. As a result, a substantial increase in power conversion efficiency, from 8.7% to 9.1%, is achieved for 1-μm-thick microcrystalline silicon solar cells deposited on a highly transparent thermally treated aluminum-doped zinc oxide layer combined with silver fingers, compared to cells deposited on a state-of-the-art zinc oxide layer.

Development and applications of transparent conductive nanocellulose paper

OpenAIRE

Li, Shaohui; Lee, Pooi See

2017-01-01

Abstract Increasing attention has been paid to the next generation of ‘green’ electronic devices based on renewable nanocellulose, owing to its low roughness, good thermal stability and excellent optical properties. Various proof-of-concept transparent nanopaper-based electronic devices have been fabricated; these devices exhibit excellent flexibility, bendability and even foldability. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of transparent nanopaper that uses different types of nanoc...

Efficient Coding of Shape and Transparency for Video Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aghito, Shankar Manuel; Forchhammer, Søren

2007-01-01

A novel scheme for coding gray-level alpha planes in object-based video is presented. Gray-level alpha planes convey the shape and the transparency information, which are required for smooth composition of video objects. The algorithm proposed is based on the segmentation of the alpha plane...... in three layers: binary shape layer, opaque layer, and intermediate layer. Thus, the latter two layers replace the single transparency layer of MPEG-4 Part 2. Different encoding schemes are specifically designed for each layer, utilizing cross-layer correlations to reduce the bit rate. First, the binary...... demonstrating that the proposed techniques provide substantial bit rate savings coding shape and transparency when compared to the tools adopted in MPEG-4 Part 2....

Charge recombination reduction in dye-sensitized solar cells by means of an electron beam-deposited TiO2 buffer layer between conductive glass and photoelectrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manca, Michele; Malara, Francesco; Martiradonna, Luigi; De Marco, Luisa; Giannuzzi, Roberto; Cingolani, Roberto; Gigli, Giuseppe

2010-01-01

A thin anatase titanium dioxide compact film was deposited by electron beam evaporation as buffer layer between the conductive transparent electrode and the porous TiO 2 -based photoelectrode in dye-sensitized solar cells. The effect of such a buffer layer on the back transfer reaction of electrons to tri-iodide ions in liquid electrolyte-based cells has been studied by means of both electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and open circuit photovoltage decay analysis. The influence of the thickness has been also investigated and an increment in overall quantum conversion efficiency η as high as + 31% with respect to the standard cell - fabricated onto an uncoated conductive glass - has been revealed in the case of a 120 nm thick buffer layer.

Transparent Flash Memory using Single Ta2O5 Layer for both Charge Trapping and Tunneling Dielectrics

KAUST Repository

Hota, Mrinal Kanti

2017-06-08

We report reproducible multibit transparent flash memory in which a single solution-derived Ta2O5 layer is used simultaneously as charge trapping and tunneling layer. This is different from conventional flash cells, where two different dielectric layers are typically used. Under optimized programming/erasing operations, the memory device shows excellent programmable memory characteristics with a maximum memory window of ~10 V. Moreover, the flash memory device shows a stable 2-bit memory performance, good reliability, including data retention for more than 104 sec and endurance performance for more than 100 cycles. The use of a common charge trapping and tunneling layer can simplify advanced flash memory fabrication.

Transparent Flash Memory using Single Ta2O5 Layer for both Charge Trapping and Tunneling Dielectrics

KAUST Repository

Hota, Mrinal Kanti; Alshammari, Fwzah H.; Salama, Khaled N.; Alshareef, Husam N.

2017-01-01

We report reproducible multibit transparent flash memory in which a single solution-derived Ta2O5 layer is used simultaneously as charge trapping and tunneling layer. This is different from conventional flash cells, where two different dielectric layers are typically used. Under optimized programming/erasing operations, the memory device shows excellent programmable memory characteristics with a maximum memory window of ~10 V. Moreover, the flash memory device shows a stable 2-bit memory performance, good reliability, including data retention for more than 104 sec and endurance performance for more than 100 cycles. The use of a common charge trapping and tunneling layer can simplify advanced flash memory fabrication.

Improved Long-Term Stability of Transparent Conducting Electrodes Based on Double-Laminated Electrosprayed Antimony Tin Oxides and Ag Nanowires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koo B.-R.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We fabricated double-laminated antimony tin oxide/Ag nanowire electrodes by spin-coating and electrospraying. Compared to pure Ag nanowire electrodes and single-laminated antimony tin oxide/Ag nanowire electrodes, the double-laminated antimony tin oxide/Ag nanowire electrodes had superior transparent conducting electrode performances with sheet resistance ~19.8 Ω/□ and optical transmittance ~81.9%; this was due to uniform distribution of the connected Ag nanowires because of double lamination of the metallic Ag nanowires without Ag aggregation despite subsequent microwave heating at 250°C. They also exhibited excellent and superior long-term chemical and thermal stabilities and adhesion to substrate because double-laminated antimony tin oxide thin films act as the protective layers between Ag nanowires, blocking Ag atoms penetration.

Further improvements in conducting and transparent properties of ZnO:Ga films with perpetual c-axis orientation: Materials optimization and application in silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Mondal, Praloy; Das, Debajyoti

2017-07-01

Technologically appropriate device friendly ZnO:Ga films have been prepared at a low growth temperature (100 °C) by changing the RF power (P) applied to the magnetron plasma. Structurally preferred c-axis orientation of the ZnO:Ga network has been attained with I〈002〉/I〈103〉 > 5. The c-axis oriented grains of wurtzite ZnO:Ga grows geometrically and settles in tangentially, providing favorable conduction path for stacked layer devices. Nano-sheet like structures produced at the surface are interconnected and provide conducting path across the surface; however, those accommodate a lot of pores in between that help better light trapping and reduce the reflection loss. The optimized ZnO:Ga thin film prepared at RF power of 200 W has 〈002〉 oriented grains of average size ∼10 nm and exhibits a very high conductivity ∼200 S cm-1 and elevated transmission (∼93% at 500 nm) in the visible range. The optimized ZnO:Ga film has been used as the transparent conducting oxide (TCO) window layer of RF-PECVD grown silicon thin film solar cells in glass/TCO/p-i-n-Si/Al configuration. The characteristics of identically prepared p-i-n-Si solar cells are compared by replacing presently developed ZnO:Ga TCO with the best quality U-type SnO2 coated Asahi glass substrates. The ZnO:Ga coated glass substrate offers a higher open circuit voltage (VOC) and the higher fill factor (FF). The ZnO:Ga film being more stable in hydrogen plasma than its SnO2 counterpart, maintains a high transparency to the solar radiation and improves the VOC, while reduced diffusion of Zn across the p-layer creates less defects at the p-i interface in Si:H cells and thereby, increases the FF. Nearly identical conversion efficiency is preserved for both TCO substrates. Excellent c-axis orientation even at low growth temperature promises improved device performance by extended parametric optimization.

Features of Random Metal Nanowire Networks with Application in Transparent Conducting Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Maloth, Thirupathi

2017-05-01

Among the alternatives to conventional Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) used in making transparent conducting electrodes, the random metal nanowire (NW) networks are considered to be superior offering performance at par with ITO. The performance is measured in terms of sheet resistance and optical transmittance. However, as the electrical properties of such random networks are achieved thanks to a percolation network, a minimum size of the electrodes is needed so it actually exceeds the representative volume element (RVE) of the material and the macroscopic electrical properties are achieved. There is not much information about the compatibility of this minimum RVE size with the resolution actually needed in electronic devices. Furthermore, the efficiency of NWs in terms of electrical conduction is overlooked. In this work, we address the above industrially relevant questions - 1) The minimum size of electrodes that can be made based on the dimensions of NWs and the material coverage. For this, we propose a morphology based classification in defining the RVE size and we also compare the same with that is based on macroscopic electrical properties stabilization. 2) The amount of NWs that do not participate in electrical conduction, hence of no practical use. The results presented in this thesis are a design guide to experimentalists to design transparent electrodes with more optimal usage of the material.

Preparation and Properties of Silver Nanowire-Based Transparent Conductive Composite Films

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Ji-Li; Zhang, Hua-Yu; Wang, Hai-Jun

2016-06-01

Silver nanowire-based transparent conductive composite films with different structures were successfully prepared using various methods, including liquid polyol, magnetron sputtering and spin coating. The experimental results revealed that the optical transmittance of all different structural composite films decreased slightly (1-3%) compared to pure films. However, the electrical conductivity of all composite films had a great improvement. Under the condition that the optical transmittance was greater than 78% over the wavelength range of 400-800 nm, the AgNW/PVA/AgNW film became a conductor, while the AZO/AgNW/AZO film and the ITO/AgNW/ITO film showed 88.9% and 94% reductions, respectively, for the sheet resistance compared with pure films. In addition, applying a suitable mechanical pressure can improve the conductivity of AgNW-based composite films.

Bromination of Graphene: A New Route to Making High Performance Transparent Conducting Electrodes with Low Optical Losses

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Ahmed; Dey, Sukumar; Amassian, Aram; Tanielian, Minas H.

2015-01-01

The unique optical and electrical properties of graphene have triggered great interest in its application as a transparent conducting electrode material and significant effort has been invested in achieving high conductivity while maintaining

Bromination of graphene: a new route to making high performance transparent conducting electrodes with low optical losses

KAUST Repository

Mansour, Ahmed; Amassian, Aram; Tanielian, Minas H.

2015-01-01

The high optical transmittance, electrical conductivity, flexibility and chemical stability of graphene have triggered great interest in its application as a transparent conducting electrode material and as a potential replacement for indium doped

Prediction of transmittance spectra for transparent composite electrodes with ultra-thin metal layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Zhao; Alford, T. L., E-mail: TA@asu.edu [School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 (United States); Khorasani, Arash Elhami [ON Semiconductor Corp., Phoenix, Arizona 85005 (United States); Theodore, N. D. [CHD-Fab, Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Tempe, Arizona 85224 (United States); Dhar, A. [Intel Corp., 2501 NW 229th Ave, Hillsboro, Oregon 97124 (United States)

2015-11-28

Recent interest in indium-free transparent composite-electrodes (TCEs) has motivated theoretical and experimental efforts to better understand and enhance their electrical and optical properties. Various tools have been developed to calculate the optical transmittance of multilayer thin-film structures based on the transfer-matrix method. However, the factors that affect the accuracy of these calculations have not been investigated very much. In this study, two sets of TCEs, TiO{sub 2}/Au/TiO{sub 2} and TiO{sub 2}/Ag/TiO{sub 2}, were fabricated to study the factors that affect the accuracy of transmittance predictions. We found that the predicted transmittance can deviate significantly from measured transmittance for TCEs that have ultra-thin plasmonic metal layers. The ultrathin metal layer in the TCE is typically discontinuous. When light interacts with the metallic islands in this discontinuous layer, localized surface plasmons are generated. This causes extra light absorption, which then leads to the actual transmittance being lower than the predicted transmittance.

High adhesion transparent conducting films using graphene oxide hybrid carbon nanotubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Da, Shi-Xun; Wang, Jie; Geng, Hong-Zhang; Jia, Song-Lin; Xu, Chun-Xia; Li, Lin-Ge; Shi, Pei-Pei; Li, Guangfen

2017-01-01

Graphical abstract: The GO hybrid CNTs to fabricate TCFs could dramatically enhance the conductivity, adhesion, flatness, and wettability of the films, all these improvements are advantageous for optoelectronic applications. - Highlights: • TCFs were fabricated using GO/CNT hybrid inks by a simple spray method. • Conductivity of TCFs was improved through the hybrid of GO/CNT, sheet resistance of TCFs was 146 Ω/sq at the transmittance of 86.0% when the ratio of GO/CNT got 1.5:1.0. • The flatness and wettability of TCFs were improved dramatically, which is advantageous for the solution-based processing of organic electronics for spraying and printing. • The adhesion of the TCFs increased dramatically with the raise of the ratio GO/CNT hybrid. - Abstract: Flexible transparent conducting films (TCFs) with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted more and more attention for their wide range of potential applications. While, there are still some problems to be solved on several aspects. In this study, a graphene oxide/carbon nanotube (GO/CNT) hybrid TCF was fabricated through the simple spray coating method. GO sheets were introduced to form new electron transporting channels. It was found that the best optoelectronic property films were fabricated when the ratio of GO/CNT is 1.5:1.0, which the sheet resistance of the film was found to be 146 Ω/sq at the transmittance of 86.0%. Due to the two-dimensional structure and the oxidation groups of GO sheets, flatness and wettability of the electrode surface was improved obviously. Adhesion factor of the TCFs was calculated by the change of transparent and sheet resistance after trial test, the addition of GO sheets enhanced the adhesion dramatically and the mechanism was analyzed. Improvements of conductivity, flatness, wettability and adhesion above are all advantageous for the solution-based processing of organic electronics for spraying and printing.

High adhesion transparent conducting films using graphene oxide hybrid carbon nanotubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Da, Shi-Xun; Wang, Jie; Geng, Hong-Zhang, E-mail: genghz@tjpu.edu.cn; Jia, Song-Lin; Xu, Chun-Xia; Li, Lin-Ge; Shi, Pei-Pei; Li, Guangfen

2017-01-15

Graphical abstract: The GO hybrid CNTs to fabricate TCFs could dramatically enhance the conductivity, adhesion, flatness, and wettability of the films, all these improvements are advantageous for optoelectronic applications. - Highlights: • TCFs were fabricated using GO/CNT hybrid inks by a simple spray method. • Conductivity of TCFs was improved through the hybrid of GO/CNT, sheet resistance of TCFs was 146 Ω/sq at the transmittance of 86.0% when the ratio of GO/CNT got 1.5:1.0. • The flatness and wettability of TCFs were improved dramatically, which is advantageous for the solution-based processing of organic electronics for spraying and printing. • The adhesion of the TCFs increased dramatically with the raise of the ratio GO/CNT hybrid. - Abstract: Flexible transparent conducting films (TCFs) with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have attracted more and more attention for their wide range of potential applications. While, there are still some problems to be solved on several aspects. In this study, a graphene oxide/carbon nanotube (GO/CNT) hybrid TCF was fabricated through the simple spray coating method. GO sheets were introduced to form new electron transporting channels. It was found that the best optoelectronic property films were fabricated when the ratio of GO/CNT is 1.5:1.0, which the sheet resistance of the film was found to be 146 Ω/sq at the transmittance of 86.0%. Due to the two-dimensional structure and the oxidation groups of GO sheets, flatness and wettability of the electrode surface was improved obviously. Adhesion factor of the TCFs was calculated by the change of transparent and sheet resistance after trial test, the addition of GO sheets enhanced the adhesion dramatically and the mechanism was analyzed. Improvements of conductivity, flatness, wettability and adhesion above are all advantageous for the solution-based processing of organic electronics for spraying and printing.

Atomic mapping of Ruddlesden-Popper faults in transparent conducting BaSnO3-based thin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, W Y; Tang, Y L; Zhu, Y L; Suriyaprakash, J; Xu, Y B; Liu, Y; Gao, B; Cheong, S-W; Ma, X L

2015-11-03

Doped BaSnO3 has arisen many interests recently as one of the promising transparent conducting oxides for future applications. Understanding the microstructural characteristics are crucial for the exploration of relevant devices. In this paper, we investigated the microstructural features of 0.001% La doped BaSnO3 thin film using both conventional and aberration corrected transmission electron microscopes. Contrast analysis shows high densities of Ruddlesden-Popper faults in the film, which are on {100} planes with translational displacements of 1/2a  . Atomic EELS element mappings reveal that the Ruddlesden-Popper faults are Ba-O layer terminated, and two kinds of kink structures at the Ruddlesden-Popper faults with different element distributions are also demonstrated. Quantitative analysis on lattice distortions of the Ruddlesden-Popper faults illustrates that the local lattice spacing poses a huge increment of 36%, indicating that large strains exist around the Ruddlesden-Popper faults in the film.

Contour junctions defined by dynamic image deformations enhance perceptual transparency.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawabe, Takahiro; Nishida, Shin'ya

2017-11-01

The majority of work on the perception of transparency has focused on static images with luminance-defined contour junctions, but recent work has shown that dynamic image sequences with dynamic image deformations also provide information about transparency. The present study demonstrates that when part of a static image is dynamically deformed, contour junctions at which deforming and nondeforming contours are connected facilitate the deformation-based perception of a transparent layer. We found that the impression of a transparent layer was stronger when a dynamically deforming area was adjacent to static nondeforming areas than when presented alone. When contour junctions were not formed at the dynamic-static boundaries, however, the impression of a transparent layer was not facilitated by the presence of static surrounding areas. The effect of the deformation-defined junctions was attenuated when the spatial pattern of luminance contrast at the junctions was inconsistent with the perceived transparency related to luminance contrast, while the effect did not change when the spatial luminance pattern was consistent with it. In addition, the results showed that contour completions across the junctions were required for the perception of a transparent layer. These results indicate that deformation-defined junctions that involve contour completion between deforming and nondeforming regions enhance the perception of a transparent layer, and that the deformation-based perceptual transparency can be promoted by the simultaneous presence of appropriately configured luminance and contrast-other features that can also by themselves produce the sensation of perceiving transparency.

Fabrication and physical properties of transparent poly (methyl-methacrylate)-layered silicate nanocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Vasiliu, Elena

Transparent polymer nanocomposites have promising potential for protective coating applications with improved surface resistance, higher temperature performance and low gas permeability for containers and films. Extremely thin protective layers are required for improved performance of various electronic devices in aviation, aerospace and medical equipment as well as for lenses and fiber optics in optical communications. This research study developed a method for fabricating optically transparent nanocomposites of poly(methyl-methacrylate)(PMMA) and a commercial organically-modified layered silicate CloisiteRTM 6A (C6A). The nanocomposites were produced by dispersing C6A and PMMA separately in a common solvent xylene followed by mixing the two solutions by mechanical stirring and/or ultrasonic agitation and then removing the solvent by evaporation. Processing conditions such as the mixing methods and times and the rates of solvent removal were investigated in order to achieve a high degree of dispersion and exfoliation of C6A in the polymer matrix and produce a nanocomposite material with high optical transparency. Small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) was used to monitor the morphology of the C6A after each processing step. Thin films of PMMA/C6A nanocomposites were produced by casting and spraying. SAXS results suggest that C6A was partially exfoliated in the composite material with an average of 2 to 3 platelets per crystallite. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the existence of both exfoliated and intercalated C6A in PMMA. One mm thick discs were obtained by molding the sprayed films. The optical transmission of the nanocomposite films and discs was measured with an UV/VIS spectrometer. The spectroscopic results served to identify the best process for producing PMMA-C6A films of high optical transparency. Even the nanocomposite films containing up to 20 wt.% C6A prepared by this process exhibited optical transmittance in the range of 80 to 90

Flexible transparent conductive materials based on silver nanowire networks: a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langley, Daniel; Giusti, Gaël; Bellet, Daniel; Mayousse, Céline; Celle, Caroline; Simonato, Jean-Pierre

2013-01-01

The class of materials combining high electrical or thermal conductivity, optical transparency and flexibility is crucial for the development of many future electronic and optoelectronic devices. Silver nanowire networks show very promising results and represent a viable alternative to the commonly used, scarce and brittle indium tin oxide. The science and technology research of such networks are reviewed to provide a better understanding of the physical and chemical properties of this nanowire-based material while opening attractive new applications. (topical review)

Carbon Nanotube Networks Reinforced by Silver Nanowires with Improved Optical Transparency and Conductivity

Science.gov (United States)

Martine, Patricia; Fakhimi, Azin; Lin, Ling; Jurewicz, Izabela; Dalton, Alan; Zakhidov, Anvar A.; Baughman, Ray H.

2015-03-01

We have fabricated highly transparent and conductive free-standing nanocomposite thin film electrodes by adding silver nanowires (AgNWs) to dry-spun Multiwall Carbon Nanotube (MWNT) aerogels. This nanocomposite exhibits desirable properties such as high optical transmittance, excellent flexibility and enhanced electrical conductivity. The incorporation of the AgNWs to the MWNT aerogels was accomplished by using a spray coating method. The optical transparency and sheet resistance of the nanocomposite was tuned by adjusting the concentration of AgNWs, back pressure and nozzle distance of the spray gun to the MWNT aerogel during deposition. As the solvent evaporated, the aerogel MWNT bundles densified via surface tension which caused the MWNT bundles to collapse. This adjustable process was responsible in forming well defined apertures that increased the nanocomposite's transmittance up to 90 percent. Via AgNWs percolation and random interconnections between separate MWNT bundles in the aerogel matrix, the sheet resistance decreased from 1 K ohm/sq to less than 100 ohm/sq. Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute

Transparent Conducting Oxides for Photovoltaics: Manipulation of Fermi Level, Work Function and Energy Band Alignment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana E. Proffit

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Doping limits, band gaps, work functions and energy band alignments of undoped and donor-doped transparent conducting oxides Zn0, In2O3, and SnO2 as accessed by X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS/UPS are summarized and compared. The presented collection provides an extensive data set of technologically relevant electronic properties of photovoltaic transparent electrode materials and illustrates how these relate to the underlying defect chemistry, the dependence of surface dipoles on crystallographic orientation and/or surface termination, and Fermi level pinning.

MOCVD growth of transparent conducting Cd2SnO4 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metz, A.W.; Poeppelmeier, K.R.; Marks, T.J.; Lane, M.A.; Kannewurt, C.R.

2004-01-01

The first preparation of transparent conducting Cd 2 SnO 4 thin films by a simple MOCVD process is described. As-deposited films using Cd(hfa) 2 (TMEDA) (Figure), at 365 C are found to be highly crystalline with a relatively wide range of grain size of 100-300 nm. XRD indicates a cubic spinel Cd 2 SnO 4 crystal structure and the possible presence of a small amount of CdO. The films exhibit conductivities of 2170 S/cm and a bandgap of 3.3 eV, rivaling those of commercial tin-doped indium oxide. (Abstract Copyright [2004], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

p-Type Transparent Conducting Oxide/n-Type Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Efficient and Stable Solar Water Oxidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Le; Yang, Jinhui; Klaus, Shannon; Lee, Lyman J; Woods-Robinson, Rachel; Ma, Jie; Lum, Yanwei; Cooper, Jason K; Toma, Francesca M; Wang, Lin-Wang; Sharp, Ian D; Bell, Alexis T; Ager, Joel W

2015-08-05

Achieving stable operation of photoanodes used as components of solar water splitting devices is critical to realizing the promise of this renewable energy technology. It is shown that p-type transparent conducting oxides (p-TCOs) can function both as a selective hole contact and corrosion protection layer for photoanodes used in light-driven water oxidation. Using NiCo2O4 as the p-TCO and n-type Si as a prototypical light absorber, a rectifying heterojunction capable of light driven water oxidation was created. By placing the charge separating junction in the Si using a np(+) structure and by incorporating a highly active heterogeneous Ni-Fe oxygen evolution catalyst, efficient light-driven water oxidation can be achieved. In this structure, oxygen evolution under AM1.5G illumination occurs at 0.95 V vs RHE, and the current density at the reversible potential for water oxidation (1.23 V vs RHE) is >25 mA cm(-2). Stable operation was confirmed by observing a constant current density over 72 h and by sensitive measurements of corrosion products in the electrolyte. In situ Raman spectroscopy was employed to investigate structural transformation of NiCo2O4 during electrochemical oxidation. The interface between the light absorber and p-TCO is crucial to produce selective hole conduction to the surface under illumination. For example, annealing to produce more crystalline NiCo2O4 produces only small changes in its hole conductivity, while a thicker SiOx layer is formed at the n-Si/p-NiCo2O4 interface, greatly reducing the PEC performance. The generality of the p-TCO protection approach is demonstrated by multihour, stable, water oxidation with n-InP/p-NiCo2O4 heterojunction photoanodes.

Highly transparent conductive electrode with ultra-low HAZE by grain boundary modification of aqueous solution fabricated alumina-doped zinc oxide nanocrystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nian, Qiong; Cheng, Gary J. [Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906 (United States); Callahan, Michael; Bailey, John [Greentech Solutions, Inc., Hanson, Massachusetts 02341 (United States); Look, David [Semiconductor Research Center, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio 45435 (United States); Efstathiadis, Harry [College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), University of Albany, Albany, New York 12203 (United States)

2015-06-01

Commercial production of transparent conducting oxide (TCO) polycrystalline films requires high electrical conductivity with minimal degradation in optical transparency. Aqueous solution deposited TCO films would reduce production costs of TCO films but suffer from low electrical mobility, which severely degrades both electrical conductivity and optical transparency in the visible spectrum. Here, we demonstrated that grain boundary modification by ultra-violet laser crystallization (UVLC) of solution deposited aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) nanocrystals results in high Hall mobility, with a corresponding dramatic improvement in AZO electrical conductance. The AZO films after laser irradiation exhibit electrical mobility up to 18.1 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} with corresponding electrical resistivity and sheet resistances as low as 1 × 10{sup −3} Ω cm and 75 Ω/sq, respectively. The high mobility also enabled a high transmittance (T) of 88%-96% at 550 nm for the UVLC films. In addition, HAZE measurement shows AZO film scattering transmittance as low as 1.8%, which is superior over most other solution deposited transparent electrode alternatives such as silver nanowires. Thus, AZO films produced by the UVLC technique have a combined figure of merit for electrical conductivity, optical transparency, and optical HAZE higher than other solution based deposition techniques and comparable to vacuumed based deposition methods.

Semi-insulating Sn-Zr-O: Tunable resistance buffer layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barnes, Teresa M.; Burst, James M.; Reese, Matthew O.; Perkins, Craig L. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States)

2015-03-02

Highly resistive and transparent (HRT) buffer layers are critical components of solar cells and other opto-electronic devices. HRT layers are often undoped transparent conducting oxides. However, these oxides can be too conductive to form an optimal HRT. Here, we present a method to produce HRT layers with tunable electrical resistivity, despite the presence of high concentrations of unintentionally or intentionally added dopants in the film. This method relies on alloying wide-bandgap, high-k dielectric materials (e.g., ZrO{sub 2}) into the host oxide to tune the resistivity. We demonstrate Sn{sub x}Zr{sub 1−x}O{sub 2}:F films with tunable resistivities varying from 0.001 to 10 Ω cm, which are controlled by the Zr mole fraction in the films. Increasing Zr suppresses carriers by expanding the bandgap almost entirely by shifting the valence-band position, which allows the HRT layers to maintain good conduction-band alignment for a low-resistance front contact.

Laser Processed Silver Nanowire Network Transparent Electrodes for Novel Electronic Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Spechler, Joshua Allen

Silver nanowire network transparent conducting layers are poised to make headway into a space previously dominated by transparent conducting oxides due to the promise of a flexible, scaleable, lab-atmosphere processable alternative. However, there are many challenges standing in the way between research scale use and consumer technology scale adaptation of this technology. In this thesis we will explore many, and overcome a few of these challenges. We will address the poor conductivity at the narrow nanowire-nanowire junction points in the network by developing a laser based process to weld nanowires together on a microscopic scale. We address the need for a comparative metric for transparent conductors in general, by taking a device level rather than a component level view of these layers. We also address the mechanical, physical, and thermal limitations to the silver nanowire networks by making composites from materials including a colorless polyimide and titania sol-gel. Additionally, we verify our findings by integrating these processes into devices. Studying a hybrid organic/inorganic heterojunction photovoltaic device we show the benefits of a laser processed electrode. Green phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes fabricated on a solution phase processed silver nanowire based electrode show favorable device metrics compared to a conductive oxide electrode based control. The work in this thesis is intended to push the adoption of silver nanowire networks to further allow new device architectures, and thereby new device applications.

Transparent conducting films of hierarchically nanostructured polyaniline networks on flexible substrates for high-performance gas sensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Shouli; Sun, Chaozheng; Wan, Pengbo; Wang, Cheng; Luo, Ruixian; Li, Yaping; Liu, Junfeng; Sun, Xiaoming

2015-01-21

Transparent chemical gas sensors are assembled from a transparent conducting film of hierarchically nanostructured polyaniline (PANI) networks fabricated on a flexible PET substrate, by coating silver nanowires (Ag NWs) followed by the in situ polymerization of aniline near the sacrificial Ag NW template. The sensor exhibits enhanced gas sensing performance at room temperature in both sensitivity and selectivity to NH3 compared to pure PANI film. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Flexible transparent conducting films with embedded silver networks composed of bimodal-sized nanoparticles for heater application

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Ji Sun; Song, Yookyung; Park, Daseul; Kim, Yeon-Won; Kim, Yoon Jin

2018-06-01

A facile one-pot synthetic method for preparing the Ag nanoparticle inks with a bimodal size distribution was newly devised and they were successfully employed as a conducting filler to form the metal-mesh type transparent conducting electrodes on the flexible substrate. Bimodal-sized Ag nanoparticles were synthesized through the polyol process, and their size variation was occurred via finely tuned composition ratio between Ag+ ions and polymeric capping agents. The prepared bimodal-sized Ag nanoparticles exhibited the form of well-dispersed Ag nanoparticle inks without adding any dispersants and dispersion process. By filling the patterned micro-channels engraved on the flexible polymer substrate using a bimodal-sized Ag nanoparticle ink, a metal-mesh type transparent electrode (transmittance: 90% at 550 nm, haze: 1.5, area: 8 × 8 cm2) was fabricated. By applying DC voltage to the mesh type electrode, a flexible transparent joule heater was successfully achieved with a performance of 4.5 °C s‑1 heat-up rate at a low input power density.

High performance and transparent multilayer MoS2 transistors: Tuning Schottky barrier characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young Ki Hong

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Various strategies and mechanisms have been suggested for investigating a Schottky contact behavior in molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 thin-film transistor (TFT, which are still in much debate and controversy. As one of promising breakthrough for transparent electronics with a high device performance, we have realized MoS2 TFTs with source/drain electrodes consisting of transparent bi-layers of a conducting oxide over a thin film of low work function metal. Intercalation of a low work function metal layer, such as aluminum, between MoS2 and transparent source/drain electrodes makes it possible to optimize the Schottky contact characteristics, resulting in about 24-fold and 3 orders of magnitude enhancement of the field-effect mobility and on-off current ratio, respectively, as well as transmittance of 87.4 % in the visible wavelength range.

On the solid phase crystallization of In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H transparent conductive oxide films prepared by atomic layer deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Macco, Bart; Verheijen, Marcel A.; Black, Lachlan E.; Melskens, J. [Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven (Netherlands); Barcones, Beatriz [NanoLab@TU/e, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven (Netherlands); Kessels, Wilhelmus M. M., E-mail: w.m.m.kessels@tue.nl [Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven (Netherlands); Solliance Solar Research, High Tech Campus 5, 5656 AE Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2016-08-28

Hydrogen-doped indium oxide (In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H) has emerged as a highly transparent and conductive oxide, finding its application in a multitude of optoelectronic devices. Recently, we have reported on an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process to prepare high quality In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H. This process consists of ALD of In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:H films at 100 °C, followed by a solid phase crystallization step at 150–200 °C. In this work, we report on a detailed electron microscopy study of this crystallization process which reveals new insights into the crucial aspects for achieving the large grain size and associated excellent properties of the material. The key finding is that the best optoelectronic properties are obtained by preparing the films at the lowest possible temperature prior to post-deposition annealing. Electron microscopy imaging shows that such films are mostly amorphous, but feature a very low density of embedded crystallites. Upon post-deposition annealing, crystallization proceeds merely from isotropic crystal grain growth of these embedded crystallites rather than by the formation of additional crystallites. The relatively high hydrogen content of 4.2 at. % in these films is thought to cause the absence of additional nucleation, thereby rendering the final grain size and optoelectronic properties solely dependent on the density of embedded crystallites. The temperature-dependent grain growth rate has been determined, from which an activation energy of (1.39 ± 0.04) eV has been extracted. Finally, on the basis of the observed crystallization mechanism, a simple model to fully describe the crystallization process has been developed. This model has been validated with a numerical implementation thereof, which accurately predicts the observed temperature-dependent crystallization behaviour.

THERMAL PROPERTIES OF TRANSPARENT BARRIER MODIFIED WITH ORGANIC PCMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michał MUSIAŁ

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Renewable energy sources are increasingly often applied in civil engineering as a mean to reduce buildings energy demand for heating. One of the ways to reduce HVAC energy demand is to limit heat transfer and excessive solar gain through building's glazed barriers. Preliminary results of the research conducted on organic PCM-modified transparent barrier are presented in this paper. Multiple publications concerning PCMs application in structural materials have recently appeared. Most of them are focused on modification of structure of non-transparent sections of buildings' envelope. Augmenting a glazed barrier with PCMs increases its heat capacity and thermal resistance. The most important feature of the assembly is the thermal buffer, a product of PCM's considerable value of specific latent heat. Research were conducted on a triple-pane transparent rectangular barrier, that constituted one of the faces of cubic chamber. Internal volume of the chamber was 1m3. The applied PCM was a mixture of saturated and non-saturated hydrocarbons. The described assembly was subjected to temperature and radiation that occur in Poland during winter. Glazing temperature, melted/total PCM ratio were measured, as well as energy demand for keeping internal temperature at constant level. Measurements were made in steady states, for various PCM layer thickness. The influence of the modification on energy demand was determined, along with the most effective and rational thickness of PCM layer to be applied. Conducted research enabled to develop a basis for further investigation of PCMs application in civil engineering.

High Transparent Conductive Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films by Reactive Co-Sputtering (Postprint)

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-30

30 Mar 2016. This document contains color . Journal article published in Optical Interference Coatings, 19 Jun 2016. © 2016 Optical Society of...Ahn, Mi-So Lee, Moon-Ho Ham , Woong Lee, Jae-Min Myoung, “Effects of oxygen concentration on the properties of Al-doped ZnO transparent conductive

Facile Preparation of Carbon-Nanotube-based 3-Dimensional Transparent Conducting Networks for Flexible Noncontact Sensing Device

KAUST Repository

Tai, Yanlong

2016-04-12

Here, we report the controllable fabrication of transparent conductive films (TCFs) for moisture-sensing applications based on heating-rate-triggered, 3-dimensional porous conducting networks of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). How baking conditions influence the self-assembled microstructure of the TCFs is discussed. The sensor presents high-performance properties, including a reasonable sheet resistance (2.1 kohm/sq), a high visible-range transmittance (> 69 %, PET = 90 %), and good stability when subjected to cyclic loading (> 1000 cycles, better than indium tin oxide film) during processing. Moreover, the benefits of these kinds of TCFs were verified through a fully transparent, highly sensitive, rapid response, noncontact moisture-sensing device (5×5 sensing pixels).

Propagation of acoustoelectric waves in a layered cylinder with conducting layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shul'ga, N.A.; Medvedev, K.V.

1995-01-01

In multilayer acoustoelectric waveguides, the piezoelectric layers may be separated by metallic conducting layers. Propagation of shear waves within such structures of a regular type with planar dividing boundaries for the properties was studied. In this paper, we investigate acoustoelectric waves in multilayer piezoelectric structures containing conducting layers, with cylindrical dividing surfaces for the properties. The method for solving the boundary-value problem is a generalization of the approach outlined. We should turn our attention to the fact that the order of the dispersion determinant in these problems depends on the number of piezoelectric-conductor junctions. When the curvature of the cylindrical surface is equal to zero, the constructed solution goes to the solution of the problem for a planar waveguide

Transparent electrode requirements for thin film solar cell modules

KAUST Repository

Rowell, Michael W.; McGehee, Michael D.

2011-01-01

The transparent conductor (TC) layer in thin film solar cell modules has a significant impact on the power conversion efficiency. Reflection, absorption, resistive losses and lost active area either from the scribed interconnect region in monolithically integrated modules or from the shadow losses of a metal grid in standard modules typically reduce the efficiency by 10-25%. Here, we perform calculations to show that a competitive TC must have a transparency of at least 90% at a sheet resistance of less than 10 Ω/sq (conductivity/absorptivity ≥ 1 Ω -1) for monolithically integrated modules. For standard modules, losses are much lower and the performance of alternative lower cost TC materials may already be sufficient to replace conducting oxides in this geometry. © 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Printed optically transparent graphene cellulose electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Sinar, Dogan; Knopf, George K.; Nikumb, Suwas; Andrushchenko, Anatoly

2016-02-01

Optically transparent electrodes are a key component in variety of products including bioelectronics, touch screens, flexible displays, low emissivity windows, and photovoltaic cells. Although highly conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) films are often used in these electrode applications, the raw material is very expensive and the electrodes often fracture when mechanically stressed. An alternative low-cost material for inkjet printing transparent electrodes on glass and flexible polymer substrates is described in this paper. The water based ink is created by using a hydrophilic cellulose derivative, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), to help suspend the naturally hydrophobic graphene (G) sheets in a solvent composed of 70% DI water and 30% 2-butoxyethanol. The CMC chain has hydrophobic and hydrophilic functional sites which allow adsorption on G sheets and, therefore, permit the graphene to be stabilized in water by electrostatic and steric forces. Once deposited on the functionalized substrate the electrical conductivity of the printed films can be "tuned" by decomposing the cellulose stabilizer using thermal reduction. The entire electrode can be thermally reduced in an oven or portions of the electrode thermally modified using a laser annealing process. The thermal process can reduce the sheet resistance of G-CMC films to < 100 Ω/sq. Experimental studies show that the optical transmittance and sheet resistance of the G-CMC conductive electrode is a dependent on the film thickness (ie. superimposed printed layers). The printed electrodes have also been doped with AuCl3 to increase electrical conductivity without significantly increasing film thickness and, thereby, maintain high optical transparency.

Metal{Polymer Hybrid Materials For Flexible Transparent Conductors

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanan, Sudarshan

The field of organic electronics, till recently a mere research topic, is currently making rapid strides and tremendous progress into entering the mainstream electronics industry with several applications and products such as OLED televisions, curved displays, wearable devices, flexible solar cells, etc. already having been commercialized. A major component in these devices, especially for photovoltaic applications, is a transparent conductor used as one of the electrodes, which in most commercial applications are highly doped wide bandgap semiconducting oxides also called Transparent Conducting Oxides (TCOs). However, TCOs exhibit inherent disadvantages such as limited supply, brittle mechanical properties, expensive processing that present major barriers for the more widespread economic use in applications such as exible transparent conductors, owing to which suitable alternative materials are being sought. In this context we present two approaches in realizing alternative TCs using metal-polymer hybrid materials, with high figures of merit that are easily processable, reasonably inexpensive and mechanically robust as well. In this context, our first approach employs laminated metal-polymer photonic bandgap structures to effectively tune optical and electrical properties by an appropriate design of the material stack, factoring in the effect of the materials involved, the number of layers and layer properties. We have found that in the case of a four-bilayer Au/polystyrene (AujPS) laminate structure, an enhancement in optical transmittance of ˜ 500% in comparison to a monolithic A film of equivalent thickness, can be achieved. The high conductivity (˜ 106 O--1cm--1) of the metallic component, Au in this case, also ensures planar conductivity; metallic inclusions in the dielectric polymer layer can in principle give rise to out-of-plane conductivity as well enabling a fully functional TC. Such materials also have immense potential for several other applications

Three-dimensionally embedded indium tin oxide (ITO) films in photosensitive glass: a transparent and conductive platform for microdevices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beke, S.; Sugioka, K.; Midorikawa, K.; Koroesi, L.; Dekany, I.

2011-01-01

A new method for embedding transparent and conductive two- and three-dimensional microstructures in glass is presented. We show that the internal surface of hollow structures fabricated by femtosecond-laser direct writing inside the photosensitive glass can be coated by indium tin oxide (Sn-doped In 2 O 3 , ITO) using a sol-gel process. The idea of combining two transparent materials with different electrical properties, i.e., insulating and conductive, is very promising and hence it opens new prospects in manufacturing cutting edge microdevices, such as lab-on-a-chips (LOCs) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). (orig.)

Indium tin oxide-rod/single walled carbon nanotube based transparent electrodes for ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yun, Min Ju; Kim, Hee-Dong; Kim, Kyeong Heon; Sung, Hwan Jun; Park, Sang Young; An, Ho-Myoung; Kim, Tae Geun

2013-01-01

In this paper, we report a transparent conductive oxide electrode scheme working for ultraviolet light-emitting diodes based on indium tin oxide (ITO)-rod and a single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) layer. We prepared four samples with ITO-rod, SWCNT/ITO-rod, ITO-rod/SWCNT, and SWCNT/ITO-rod/SWCNT structures for comparison. As a result, the sample with SWCNT/ITO-rod/SWCNT structures showed the highest transmittance over 90% at 280 nm and the highest Ohmic behavior (with sheet resistance of 5.33 kΩ/□) in the current–voltage characteristic curves. - Highlights: • Transparent conductive oxide (TCO) electrodes are proposed for UV light-emitting diodes. • These TCO electrodes are based on evaporated indium tin oxide (ITO)-rods. • Single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) layers are used as a current spreading layer. • The proposed TCO electrode structures show more than 90% transmittance at 280 nm

High performance and transparent multilayer MoS{sub 2} transistors: Tuning Schottky barrier characteristics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Young Ki; Kwon, Junyeon; Hong, Seongin; Song, Won Geun; Liu, Na; Omkaram, Inturu; Kim, Sunkook, E-mail: kimskcnt@gmail.com, E-mail: ohms@keti.re.kr [Multi-Functional Bio/Nano Lab., Kyung Hee University, Gyeonggi 446-701 (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Geonwook; Yoo, Byungwook; Oh, Min Suk, E-mail: kimskcnt@gmail.com, E-mail: ohms@keti.re.kr [Display Convergence Research Center, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Gyeonggi 463-816 (Korea, Republic of); Ju, Sanghyun [Department of Physics, Kyonggi University, Suwon, Gyeonggi-Do 443-760 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Various strategies and mechanisms have been suggested for investigating a Schottky contact behavior in molybdenum disulfide (MoS{sub 2}) thin-film transistor (TFT), which are still in much debate and controversy. As one of promising breakthrough for transparent electronics with a high device performance, we have realized MoS{sub 2} TFTs with source/drain electrodes consisting of transparent bi-layers of a conducting oxide over a thin film of low work function metal. Intercalation of a low work function metal layer, such as aluminum, between MoS{sub 2} and transparent source/drain electrodes makes it possible to optimize the Schottky contact characteristics, resulting in about 24-fold and 3 orders of magnitude enhancement of the field-effect mobility and on-off current ratio, respectively, as well as transmittance of 87.4 % in the visible wavelength range.

A novel technique for increase the figure of merit of indium-tin oxide transparent conducting coatings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keshmiri, S.H.; Roknabadi, M.R.

1999-01-01

Indium-Tin Oxide (ITO) films have been used as transparent electrodes in many optoelectronic devices. Although the free electron concentration in these films can be rather high, but due to low drift mobilities, the electrical conductivity of ITO films are much lower than that of metals. This is mainly due to high concentration of trapping centers created by structural defects in an ITO film. In this article, a simple technique is explained for post-deposition hydrogenation of ITO films. It was found that exposure of ITO films to atomic-hydrogen plasma produced a significant increases in the electrical conductivity of the films. At the optimum condition, an increase of about 330% in the electrical conductivity of an ITO film was observed. The hydrogenation process did not affect optical transparency of he samples adversely. But some slight improvements (in visible wavelengths) were observed. SEM studies indicated that the microstructure of the films was not noticeably changed by the hydrogenation process. (author)

Lines that induce phenomenal transparency.

Science.gov (United States)

Grieco, Alba; Roncato, Sergio

2005-01-01

Three neighbouring opaque surfaces may appear split into two layers, one transparent and one opaque beneath, if an outline contour is drawn that encompasses two of them. The phenomenon was originally observed by Kanizsa [1955 Rivista di Psicologia 69 3-19; 1979 Organization in Vision: Essays on Gestalt Psychology (New York: Praeger)], for the case where an outline contour is drawn to encompass one of the two parts of a bicoloured figure and a portion of a background of lightest (or darkest) luminance. Preliminary observations revealed that the outline contour yields different effects: in addition to the stratification into layers described by Kanizsa, a second split, opposite in depth order, may occur when the outline contour is close in luminance to one of the three surfaces. An initial experiment was designed to investigate what conditions give rise to the two phenomenal transparencies: this led to the conclusion that an outline contour superimposed on an opaque surface causes this surface to emerge as a transparent layer when the luminances of the contour and the surface differ, in absolute value, by no more than 13.2 cd m(-2). We have named this phenomenon 'transparency of the intercepted surface', to distinguish it from the phenomenal transparency arising when the contour and surface are very different in luminance. When such a difference exists, the contour acts as a factor of surface definition and grouping: the portion of the homogeneous surface it bounds emerges as a fourth surface and groups with a nearby surface if there is one close in luminance. The transparency phenomena ('transparency of the contoured surface') perceived in this context conform to the constraints of Metelli's model, as demonstrated by a second experiment, designed to gather 'opacity' ratings of stimuli. The observer judgments conformed to the values predicted by Metelli's formula for perceived degree of transparency, alpha. The role of the outline contour in conveying figural and

Bilayered Oxide thin films for transparent electrode application

Science.gov (United States)

Dutta, Titas; Narayan, Jagdish

2008-10-01

Ga doped ZnO films with electrical and optical properties comparable to indium tin oxide (ITO) is a promising candidate for transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) because of its superior stability in hydrogen environment, benign nature and relatively inexpensive supply. However, ZnO based TCO films suffer from low work function, which is a critical parameter for device applications. We report here the growth of a novel bilayered structure consisting of very thin (few monolayers) ITO, MoOx layer on Zn0.95Ga0.05O film for transparent electrode applications by using pulsed laser deposition technique at different temperatures and oxygen partial pressure. The characteristics of the ITO film and the heterostructure have been investigated in detail using XRD, TEM, XPS, and electrical and optical property measurements. It is envisaged that the overall transmittance and the resistivity are dictated by the thicker layer of ZnGa0.05O beneath the ITO layer. Hence, this study is aimed to improve the surface characteristics without affecting the overall transmittance and sheet resistance. This will enhance the transport of the carriers across the heterojunction in the device, thus, resulting in the increase in device efficiency.

Digital grayscale printing for patterned transparent conducting Ag electrodes and their applications in flexible electronics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gupta, Ritu; Hösel, Markus; Jensen, Jacob

2014-01-01

Grayscale (halftone) laser printing is developed as a low-cost and solution processable fabrication method for ITO-free, semi-transparent and conducting Ag electrodes extendable over large area on a flexible substrate. The transmittance and sheet resistance is easily tunable by varying the graysc...

Preparation and characterization of conductive and transparent ruthenium dioxide sol-gel films.

Science.gov (United States)

Allhusen, John S; Conboy, John C

2013-11-27

RuO2 conductive thin films were synthesized using the sol-gel method and deposited onto transparent insulating substrates. The optical transmission, film thickness, surface morphology and composition, resistivity, and spectroelectrochemical performance have been characterized. The optical transmission values of these films ranged from 70 to 89% in the visible region and from 56 to 88% in the infrared region. Resistivity values of the RuO2 sol-gel films varied from 1.02 × 10(-3) to 1.13 Ω cm and are highly dependent on the initial solution concentration of RuO2 in the sol-gel. The RuO2 sol-gel films were used as electrodes for the electrochemical oxidation and reduction of ferrocenemethanol. The electrochemical behavior of our novel RuO2 sol-gel films was compared to that of a standard platinum disk electrode and showed no appreciable differences in the half-wave potential (E1/2). The mechanical and chemical stability of the coatings was tested by physical abrasion and exposure to highly acidic, oxidizing Piranha solution. Repeated exposure to these extreme conditions did not result in any appreciable decline in electrochemical performance. Finally, the use of the novel RuO2 sol-gel conductive and transparent films was demonstrated in a spectroelectrochemistry experiment in which the oxidation and reduction of ferrocenemethanol was monitored via UV-vis spectroscopy as the applied potential was cycled.

An optically transparent and flexible memory with embedded gold nanoparticles in a polymethylsilsesquioxane dielectric

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ooi, P.C.; Aw, K.C.; Gao, W.; Razak, K.A.

2013-01-01

In this work, we demonstrated a simple fabrication route towards an optically transparent and flexible memory device. The device is simple and consists of a metal/insulator/semiconductor structure; namely MIS. The preliminary MIS study with gold nanoparticles embedded between the polymethylsilsesquioxane layers was fabricated on p-Si substrate and the capacitance versus voltage measurements confirmed the charge trapped capability of the fabricated MIS memory device. Subsequently, an optically transparent and flexible MIS memory device made from indium–tin-oxide coated polyethylene terephthalate substrate and pentacene was used to replace the opaque p-Si substrate as the active layer. Current versus voltage (I–V) plot of the transparent and flexible device shows the presence of hysteresis. In an I–V plot, three distinct regions have been identified and the transport mechanisms are explained. The fabricated optically transparent and mechanically flexible MIS memory device can be programmed and erased multiple times, similar to a flash memory. Mechanical characterization to determine the robustness of the flexible memory device was also conducted but failed to establish any relationship in this preliminary work as the effect was random. Hence, more work is needed to understand the reliability of this device, especially when they are subjected to mechanical stress. - Highlights: ► An optically transparent and mechanically flexible memory is presented. ► Electrical characteristics show reprogrammable memory similar to flash memory. ► Transport mechanisms are proposed and explained. ► Mechanical bending tests are conducted

An optically transparent and flexible memory with embedded gold nanoparticles in a polymethylsilsesquioxane dielectric

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ooi, P.C. [Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland (New Zealand); Aw, K.C., E-mail: k.aw@auckland.ac.nz [Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland (New Zealand); Gao, W. [Chemical and Materials Engineering, The University of Auckland (New Zealand); Razak, K.A. [School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains (Malaysia); NanoBiotechnology Research and Innovation, INFORMM, Universiti Sains (Malaysia)

2013-10-01

In this work, we demonstrated a simple fabrication route towards an optically transparent and flexible memory device. The device is simple and consists of a metal/insulator/semiconductor structure; namely MIS. The preliminary MIS study with gold nanoparticles embedded between the polymethylsilsesquioxane layers was fabricated on p-Si substrate and the capacitance versus voltage measurements confirmed the charge trapped capability of the fabricated MIS memory device. Subsequently, an optically transparent and flexible MIS memory device made from indium–tin-oxide coated polyethylene terephthalate substrate and pentacene was used to replace the opaque p-Si substrate as the active layer. Current versus voltage (I–V) plot of the transparent and flexible device shows the presence of hysteresis. In an I–V plot, three distinct regions have been identified and the transport mechanisms are explained. The fabricated optically transparent and mechanically flexible MIS memory device can be programmed and erased multiple times, similar to a flash memory. Mechanical characterization to determine the robustness of the flexible memory device was also conducted but failed to establish any relationship in this preliminary work as the effect was random. Hence, more work is needed to understand the reliability of this device, especially when they are subjected to mechanical stress. - Highlights: ► An optically transparent and mechanically flexible memory is presented. ► Electrical characteristics show reprogrammable memory similar to flash memory. ► Transport mechanisms are proposed and explained. ► Mechanical bending tests are conducted.

Paradoxical effect of spatially homogenous transparent fields on simultaneous contrast illusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dixon, Erica; Shapiro, Arthur G

2014-04-01

In simultaneous brightness contrast (SBC) demonstrations, identical mid-luminance disks appear different from each other when one is placed on a black background while the other is placed on a white background. The strength of SBC effects can be enhanced by placing a semi-transparent layer on top of the display (Meyer's effect). Here, we try to separate the causes of Meyer's effect by placing a spatially homogenous transparent layer over a standard SBC display, and systematically varying the transmission level (alpha=0, clear; alpha=1, opaque) and color (black, gray, white) of the semi-transparent layer. Spatially homogenous transparent layers, which lack spatial cues, cannot be unambiguously interpreted as transparent fields. We measure SBC strength with both matching and ranking procedures. Paradoxically, with black layers, increasing alpha level weakens SBC when measured with a ranking procedure (no Meyer's effect) and strengthens SBC when measured with a matching procedure (Meyer's effect). With white and gray layers, neither procedure produces Meyer's effect. We account for the differences between white and black layers by positing that the visual system separates luminance from contrast. The results suggest that observers attend to different information in the matching and ranking procedures.

Large scale, highly conductive and patterned transparent films of silver nanowires on arbitrary substrates and their application in touch screens

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madaria, Anuj R; Kumar, Akshay; Zhou Chongwu

2011-01-01

The application of silver nanowire films as transparent conductive electrodes has shown promising results recently. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of a simple spray coating technique to obtain large scale, highly uniform and conductive silver nanowire films on arbitrary substrates. We also integrated a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-assisted contact transfer technique with spray coating, which allowed us to obtain large scale high quality patterned films of silver nanowires. The transparency and conductivity of the films was controlled by the volume of the dispersion used in spraying and the substrate area. We note that the optoelectrical property, σ DC /σ Op , for various films fabricated was in the range 75-350, which is extremely high for transparent thin film compared to other candidate alternatives to doped metal oxide film. Using this method, we obtain silver nanowire films on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a transparency of 85% and sheet resistance of 33 Ω/sq, which is comparable to that of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) on flexible substrates. In-depth analysis of the film shows a high performance using another commonly used figure-of-merit, Φ TE . Also, Ag nanowire film/PET shows good mechanical flexibility and the application of such a conductive silver nanowire film as an electrode in a touch panel has been demonstrated.

Large scale, highly conductive and patterned transparent films of silver nanowires on arbitrary substrates and their application in touch screens.

Science.gov (United States)

Madaria, Anuj R; Kumar, Akshay; Zhou, Chongwu

2011-06-17

The application of silver nanowire films as transparent conductive electrodes has shown promising results recently. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of a simple spray coating technique to obtain large scale, highly uniform and conductive silver nanowire films on arbitrary substrates. We also integrated a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-assisted contact transfer technique with spray coating, which allowed us to obtain large scale high quality patterned films of silver nanowires. The transparency and conductivity of the films was controlled by the volume of the dispersion used in spraying and the substrate area. We note that the optoelectrical property, σ(DC)/σ(Op), for various films fabricated was in the range 75-350, which is extremely high for transparent thin film compared to other candidate alternatives to doped metal oxide film. Using this method, we obtain silver nanowire films on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a transparency of 85% and sheet resistance of 33 Ω/sq, which is comparable to that of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) on flexible substrates. In-depth analysis of the film shows a high performance using another commonly used figure-of-merit, Φ(TE). Also, Ag nanowire film/PET shows good mechanical flexibility and the application of such a conductive silver nanowire film as an electrode in a touch panel has been demonstrated.

Tin oxide transparent thin-film transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Presley, R E; Munsee, C L; Park, C-H; Hong, D; Wager, J F; Keszler, D A

2004-01-01

A SnO 2 transparent thin-film transistor (TTFT) is demonstrated. The SnO 2 channel layer is deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and then rapid thermal annealed in O 2 at 600 deg. C. The TTFT is highly transparent, and enhancement-mode behaviour is achieved by employing a very thin channel layer (10-20 nm). Maximum field-effect mobilities of 0.8 cm 2 V -1 s -1 and 2.0 cm 2 V -1 s -1 are obtained for enhancement- and depletion-mode devices, respectively. The transparent nature and the large drain current on-to-off ratio of 10 5 associated with the enhancement-mode behaviour of these devices may prove useful for novel gas-sensor applications

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF NON-REPOSITORY LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC LAYERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

R. JONES

2004-01-01

This model report addresses activities described in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport Thermal Properties and Analysis Reports Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171708]). The model develops values for thermal conductivity, and its uncertainty, for the nonrepository layers of Yucca Mountain; in addition, the model provides estimates for matrix porosity and dry bulk density for the nonrepository layers. The studied lithostratigraphic units, as identified in the ''Geologic Framework Model'' (GFM 2000) (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170029]), are the Timber Mountain Group, the Tiva Canyon Tuff, the Yucca Mountain Tuff, the Pah Canyon Tuff, the Topopah Spring Tuff (excluding the repository layers), the Calico Hills Formation, the Prow Pass Tuff, the Bullfrog Tuff, and the Tram Tuff. The deepest model units of the GFM (Tund and Paleozoic) are excluded from this study because no data suitable for model input are available. The parameter estimates developed in this report are used as input to various models and calculations that simulate heat transport through the rock mass. Specifically, analysis model reports that use product output from this report are: (1) Drift-scale coupled processes (DST and TH seepage) models; (2) Drift degradation analysis; (3) Multiscale thermohydrologic model; and (4) Ventilation model and analysis report. In keeping with the methodology of the thermal conductivity model for the repository layers in ''Thermal Conductivity of the Potential Repository Horizon'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169854]), the Hsu and others (1995 [DIRS 158073]) three-dimensional (3-D) cubic model (referred to herein as ''the Hsu model'') was used to represent the matrix thermal conductivity as a function of the four parameters (matrix porosity, thermal conductivity of the saturating fluid, thermal conductivity of the solid, and geometric connectivity of the solid). The Hsu model requires input data from each test specimen to meet three specific conditions: (1) Known value

Highly Conductive PEDOT:PSS Films with 1,3-Dimethyl-2-Imidazolidinone as Transparent Electrodes for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jin Hee; Joo, Chul Woong; Lee, Jonghee; Seo, Yoon Kyung; Han, Joo Won; Oh, Ji Yoon; Kim, Jong Su; Yu, Seunggun; Lee, Jae Hyun; Lee, Jeong-Ik; Yun, Changhun; Choi, Bum Ho; Kim, Yong Hyun

2016-09-01

Highly conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) ( PSS) films as transparent electrodes for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are doped with a new solvent 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) and are optimized using solvent post-treatment. The DMI doped PSS films show significantly enhanced conductivities up to 812.1 S cm(-1) . The sheet resistance of the PSS films doped with DMI is further reduced by various solvent post-treatment. The effect of solvent post-treatment on DMI doped PSS films is investigated and is shown to reduce insulating PSS in the conductive films. The solvent posttreated PSS films are successfully employed as transparent electrodes in white OLEDs. It is shown that the efficiency of OLEDs with the optimized DMI doped PSS films is higher than that of reference OLEDs doped with a conventional solvent (ethylene glycol). The results present that the optimized PSS films with the new solvent of DMI can be a promising transparent electrode for low-cost, efficient ITO-free white OLEDs. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Enhancing light out-coupling of organic light-emitting devices using indium tin oxide-free low-index transparent electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Yi-Hsiang; Lu, Chun-Yang; Tsai, Shang-Ta; Tsai, Yu-Tang; Chen, Chien-Yu; Tsai, Wei-Lung; Lin, Chun-Yu; Chang, Hong-Wei; Lee, Wei-Kai; Jiao, Min; Wu, Chung-Chih, E-mail: wucc@ntu.edu.tw [Department of Electrical Engineering, Graduate Institute of Photonics and Optoelectronics, Graduate Institute of Electronics Engineering, and Innovative Photonics Advanced Research Center (i-PARC), National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China)

2014-05-05

With its increasing and sufficient conductivity, the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been capable of replacing the widely used but less cost-effective indium tin oxides (ITOs) as alternative transparent electrodes for organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Intriguingly, PEDOT:PSS also possesses an optical refractive index significantly lower than those of ITO and typical organic layers in OLEDs and well matching those of typical OLED substrates. Optical simulation reveals that by replacing ITO with such a low-index transparent electrode, the guided modes trapped within the organic/ITO layers in conventional OLEDs can be substantially suppressed, leading to more light coupled into the substrate than the conventional ITO device. By applying light out-coupling structures onto outer surfaces of substrates to effectively extract radiation into substrates, OLEDs using such low-index transparent electrodes achieve enhanced optical out-coupling and external quantum efficiencies in comparison with conventional OLEDs using ITO.

Urea-assisted low temperature green synthesis of graphene nanosheets for transparent conducting film

Science.gov (United States)

Chamoli, Pankaj; Das, Malay K.; Kar, Kamal K.

2018-02-01

Present work demonstrates the fabrication of graphene nanosheet (GN) based transparent conducting film (TCF) using spray coating. Green synthesis of GN is carried out by reduction of graphene oxide (GO) using urea as green reducing agent. The reductive ability of urea with varied concentration is studied for GO at low temperature (i.e., 90 °C). As synthesized graphene nanosheets (GNs) are characterized by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-visible spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and X-ray Photon spectroscopy (XPS). Raman analysis confirms that the maximum reduction of oxygen species is noticed using 30 mg/ml urea concentration at 90 °C from GO, and found Raman D to G band ratio (ID/IG) of ∼1.30. XPS analysis validates the Raman signature of removal of oxygen functional groups from GO, and obtained C/O ratio of ∼5.28. Further, transparent conducting films (TCFs) are fabricated using synthesized GNs. Thermal graphitization is carried out to enhance the optical and electrical properties of TCFs. TCF shows best performance when it is annealed at 900 °C for 1 h in vacuum, and obtained sheet resistance is ∼1.89 kΩ/□ with transmittance of ∼62.53%.

Transparent conductive electrodes of mixed TiO2−x–indium tin oxide for organic photovoltaics

KAUST Repository

Lee, Kyu-Sung; Lim, Jong-Wook; Kim, Han-Ki; Alford, T. L.; Jabbour, Ghassan E.

2012-01-01

A transparent conductive electrode of mixed titanium dioxide (TiO2−x)–indium tin oxide (ITO) with an overall reduction in the use of indium metal is demonstrated. When used in organic photovoltaicdevices based on bulk heterojunction photoactive

Effect of annealing on silicon heterojunction solar cells with textured ZnO:Al as transparent conductive oxide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roca i Cabarrocas P.

2012-07-01

Full Text Available We report on silicon heterojunction solar cells using textured aluminum doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al as a transparent conductive oxide (TCO instead of flat indium tin oxide. Double side silicon heterojunction solar cell were fabricated by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition on high life time N-type float zone crystalline silicon wafers. On both sides of these cells we have deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering ZnO:Al layers of thickness ranging from 800 nm to 1400 nm. These TCO layers were then textured by dipping the samples in a 0.5% hydrochloric acid. External quantum efficiency as well as I-V under 1 sun illumination measurements showed an increase of the current for the cells using textured ZnO:Al. The cells were then annealed at 150 °C, 175 °C and 200 °C during 30 min in ambient atmosphere and characterized at each annealing step. The results show that annealing has no impact on the open circuit voltage of the devices but that up to a 175 °C it enhances their short circuit current, consistent with an overall enhancement of their spectral response. Our results suggest that ZnO:Al is a promising material to increase the short circuit current (Jsc while avoiding texturing the c-Si substrate.

High thermal conductivity lossy dielectric using a multi layer configuration

Science.gov (United States)

Tiegs, Terry N.; Kiggans, Jr., James O.

2003-01-01

Systems and methods are described for loss dielectrics. A loss dielectric includes at least one high dielectric loss layer and at least one high thermal conductivity-electrically insulating layer adjacent the at least one high dielectric loss layer. A method of manufacturing a loss dielectric includes providing at least one high dielectric loss layer and providing at least one high thermal conductivity-electrically insulating layer adjacent the at least one high dielectric loss layer. The systems and methods provide advantages because the loss dielectrics are less costly and more environmentally friendly than the available alternatives.

Sodium-Ion Intercalated Transparent Conductors with Printed Reduced Graphene Oxide Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Jiayu; Gu, Feng; Bao, Wenzhong; Dai, Jiaqi; Shen, Fei; Luo, Wei; Han, Xiaogang; Urban, Daniel; Hu, Liangbing

2015-06-10

In this work, we report for the first time that Na-ion intercalation of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) can significantly improve its printed network's performance as a transparent conductor. Unlike pristine graphene that inhibits Na-ion intercalation, the larger layer-layer distance of RGO allows Na-ion intercalation, leading to simultaneously much higher DC conductivity and higher optical transmittance. The typical increase of transmittance from 36% to 79% and decrease of sheet resistance from 83k to 311 Ohms/sq in the printed network was observed after Na-ion intercalation. Compared with Li-intercalated graphene, Na-ion intercalated RGO shows much better environmental stability, which is likely due to the self-terminating oxidation of Na ions on the RGO edges. This study demonstrated the great potential of metal-ion intercalation to improve the performance of printed RGO network for transparent conductor applications.

Preparation of p-type transparent conducting tin-antimony oxide thin films by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ji, Zhenguo [College of Electronic Information, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou (China); State Key Laboratory for Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou (China); Xi, Junhua; Huo, Lijuan; Zhao, Yi [State Key Laboratory for Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou (China)

2008-07-01

P-type transparent conducting tin-antimony oxide (TAO) films were successfully prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering followed by post annealing in the air. Structural, optical and electrical properties of the TAO films were investigated. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the films are polycrystalline with orthorhombic structure of Sb{sub 2}O{sub 4}. UV-Visible absorption and transmittance spectra showed that the optical band-gap of the TAO films is about 3.90 eV, and the overall transmittance is higher than 85% in the visible region. Hall effect measurement indicated that the Sn/Sb ratio is a critical parameter to get p-type conducting TAO films. It was found that 0.19transparent conducting films. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Slightly Conductive Transparent Films for Space Applications: Manufacturability and Durability

Science.gov (United States)

Uppala, N.; Griffin, J.; Vemulapalli, J.; Hambourger, P. D.

2001-01-01

Highly transparent, slightly conductive films of co-deposited indium tin oxide (ITO) and MgF, have possible applications for environmental protection of exterior surfaces of spacecraft. Reliable preparation of films with the desired sheet resistivity (approximately 10(exp 8) ohms/square) is difficult because the electrical properties of ITO-Mg F, are highly dependent on film composition. We have investigated the use of plasma emission monitoring to improve the reproducibility of films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. While considerable improve ment was observed, it appears that some in-situ electrical or optica l characterization will be needed for reliable production coating wit h ITO-MgF,. We have also done further evaluation of a possibly undesi rable photoconductive effect previously observed in these films.

An RBS study of thin PLD and MOCVD strontium copper oxide layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kantor, Z. [Institute of Physics, University of Pannonia, H-8200 Veszprem (Hungary); Papadopoulou, E.L.; Aperathitis, E. [Inst. Electronic Struture and Laser, Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas, P.O. Box 1527, Heraklion 71110 (Greece); Deschanvres, J.-L. [LMPG INP Grenoble-Minatec, BP 257, 38016 Grenoble Cedex 1 (France); Somogyi, K. [MicroVacuum Ltd., Kerekgyarto u.: 10, H-1147 Budapest (Hungary)], E-mail: karoly.somogyi@microvacuum.com; Szendro, I. [MicroVacuum Ltd., Kerekgyarto u.: 10, H-1147 Budapest (Hungary)

2008-09-30

Strontium copper oxide (SCO) has been studied as p-type transparent (VIS) conductive oxide material. Also theoretical studies suggested p-type conductivity of the SrCu{sub 2}O{sub 2} composition. SCO thin layers, with thicknesses of 30-2000 nm, were deposited on glass and silicon substrates both by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and by MOCVD method. The as-grown layers showed high electrical resistance. Due to an annealing process, the resistivity significantly decreased and the layers showed p-type conductivity. Optical transparency measured on samples grown on glass substrates was found about or above 80%, including also thickness dependence. RBS measurements were applied for the determination of the chemical composition profile of the layers. A comparison revealed some specific differences between as-grown and annealed PLD samples. Due to the annealing, the ratio of oxide phases was changed and a vertical inhomogeneity in chemical composition was observed. Our measurements revealed also the influence of the deposition technique and of the substrate.

Ag/Au/Polypyrrole Core-shell Nanowire Network for Transparent, Stretchable and Flexible Supercapacitor in Wearable Energy Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Hyunjin; Lee, Habeom; Kwon, Jinhyeong; Suh, Young Duk; Kim, Dong Kwan; Ha, Inho; Yeo, Junyeob; Hong, Sukjoon; Ko, Seung Hwan

2017-02-01

Transparent and stretchable energy storage devices have attracted significant interest due to their potential to be applied to biocompatible and wearable electronics. Supercapacitors that use the reversible faradaic redox reaction of conducting polymer have a higher specific capacitance as compared with electrical double-layer capacitors. Typically, the conducting polymer electrode is fabricated through direct electropolymerization on the current collector. However, no research have been conducted on metal nanowires as current collectors for the direct electropolymerization, even though the metal nanowire network structure has proven to be superior as a transparent, flexible, and stretchable electrode platform because the conducting polymer’s redox potential for polymerization is higher than that of widely studied metal nanowires such as silver and copper. In this study, we demonstrated a highly transparent and stretchable supercapacitor by developing Ag/Au/Polypyrrole core-shell nanowire networks as electrode by coating the surface of Ag NWs with a thin layer of gold, which provide higher redox potential than the electropolymerizable monomer. The Ag/Au/Polypyrrole core-shell nanowire networks demonstrated superior mechanical stability under various mechanical bending and stretching. In addition, proposed supercapacitors showed fine optical transmittance together with fivefold improved areal capacitance compared to pristine Ag/Au core-shell nanowire mesh-based supercapacitors.

Electrical and optical performance of transparent conducting oxide films deposited by electrostatic spray assisted vapour deposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Xianghui; Choy, Kwang-Leong; Liu, Jun-Peng

2011-09-01

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films have the remarkable combination of high electrical conductivity and optical transparency. There is always a strong motivation to produce TCO films with good performance at low cost. Electrostatic Spray Assisted Vapor Deposition (ESAVD), as a variant of chemical vapour deposition (CVD), is a non-vacuum and low-cost deposition method. Several types of TCO films have been deposited using ESAVD process, including indium tin oxide (ITO), antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO), and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO). This paper reports the electrical and optical properties of TCO films produced by ESAVD methods, as well as the effects of post treatment by plasma hydrogenation on these TCO films. The possible mechanisms involved during plasma hydrogenation of TCO films are also discussed. Reduction and etching effect during plasma hydrogenation are the most important factors which determine the optical and electrical performance of TCO films.

Nanopatterned Metallic Films for Use As Transparent Conductive Electrodes in Optoelectronic Devices

KAUST Repository

Catrysse, Peter B.

2010-08-11

We investigate the use of nanopatterned metallic films as transparent conductive electrodes in optoelectronic devices. We find that the physics of nanopatterned electrodes, which are often optically thin metallic films, differs from that of optically thick metallic films. We analyze the optical properties when performing a geometrical transformation that maintains the electrical properties. For one-dimensional patterns of metallic wires, the analysis favors tall and narrow wires. Our design principles remain valid for oblique incidence and readily carry over to two-dimensional patterns. © 2010 American Chemical Society.

Treatment of transparent conductive oxides by laser processes for the development of Silicon photovoltaic cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canteli Perez-Caballero, D.

2015-01-01

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) are heavily doped oxides with high transparency in the visible range of the spectrum and a very low sheet resistance, making them very attractive for applications in optoelectronic devices. TCOs are widely found in many different areas such as low emissivity windows, electric contacts in computers, televisions or portable devices, and, specially, in the photovoltaic (PV) industry. PV industry is mainly based on mono- and multicrystalline silicon, where TCOs are used as anti-reflective coatings, but the search for cheaper, alternative technologies has led to the development of thin film PV technologies, where TCOs are used as transparent contacts. With the maturation of the thin film PV industry, laser sources have become an essential tool, allowing the improvement of some industrial processes and the development of new ones. Because of the interest on a deeper understanding of the interaction processes between laser light and TCOs, the laser ablation of three of the most important TCOs has been studied in depth in the present work. (Author)

Atomic-Layer-Deposited AZO Outperforms ITO in High-Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells

KAUST Repository

Kan, Zhipeng

2018-05-11

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) transparent conducting electrodes are widely used across the display industry, and are currently the cornerstone of photovoltaic device developments, taking a substantial share in the manufacturing cost of large-area modules. However, cost and supply considerations are set to limit the extensive use of indium for optoelectronic device applications and, in turn, alternative transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials are required. In this report, we show that aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) are sufficiently conductive and transparent to outperform ITO as the cathode in inverted polymer solar cells. Reference polymer solar cells made with atomic-layer-deposited AZO cathodes, PCE10 as the polymer donor and PC71BM as the fullerene acceptor (model systems), reach power conversion efficiencies of ca. 10% (compared to ca. 9% with ITO-coated glass), without compromising other figures of merit. These ALD-grown AZO electrodes are promising for a wide range of optoelectronic device applications relying on TCOs.

Atomic-Layer-Deposited AZO Outperforms ITO in High-Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells

KAUST Repository

Kan, Zhipeng; Wang, Zhenwei; Firdaus, Yuliar; Babics, Maxime; Alshareef, Husam N.; Beaujuge, Pierre

2018-01-01

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) transparent conducting electrodes are widely used across the display industry, and are currently the cornerstone of photovoltaic device developments, taking a substantial share in the manufacturing cost of large-area modules. However, cost and supply considerations are set to limit the extensive use of indium for optoelectronic device applications and, in turn, alternative transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials are required. In this report, we show that aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) are sufficiently conductive and transparent to outperform ITO as the cathode in inverted polymer solar cells. Reference polymer solar cells made with atomic-layer-deposited AZO cathodes, PCE10 as the polymer donor and PC71BM as the fullerene acceptor (model systems), reach power conversion efficiencies of ca. 10% (compared to ca. 9% with ITO-coated glass), without compromising other figures of merit. These ALD-grown AZO electrodes are promising for a wide range of optoelectronic device applications relying on TCOs.

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF NON-REPOSITORY LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC LAYERS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

R. JONES

2004-10-22

This model report addresses activities described in ''Technical Work Plan for: Near-Field Environment and Transport Thermal Properties and Analysis Reports Integration'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171708]). The model develops values for thermal conductivity, and its uncertainty, for the nonrepository layers of Yucca Mountain; in addition, the model provides estimates for matrix porosity and dry bulk density for the nonrepository layers. The studied lithostratigraphic units, as identified in the ''Geologic Framework Model'' (GFM 2000) (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170029]), are the Timber Mountain Group, the Tiva Canyon Tuff, the Yucca Mountain Tuff, the Pah Canyon Tuff, the Topopah Spring Tuff (excluding the repository layers), the Calico Hills Formation, the Prow Pass Tuff, the Bullfrog Tuff, and the Tram Tuff. The deepest model units of the GFM (Tund and Paleozoic) are excluded from this study because no data suitable for model input are available. The parameter estimates developed in this report are used as input to various models and calculations that simulate heat transport through the rock mass. Specifically, analysis model reports that use product output from this report are: (1) Drift-scale coupled processes (DST and TH seepage) models; (2) Drift degradation analysis; (3) Multiscale thermohydrologic model; and (4) Ventilation model and analysis report. In keeping with the methodology of the thermal conductivity model for the repository layers in ''Thermal Conductivity of the Potential Repository Horizon'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169854]), the Hsu et al. (1995 [DIRS 158073]) three-dimensional (3-D) cubic model (referred to herein as ''the Hsu model'') was used to represent the matrix thermal conductivity as a function of the four parameters (matrix porosity, thermal conductivity of the saturating fluid, thermal conductivity of the solid, and geometric connectivity of the solid). The Hsu model requires input data

THz characterization and demonstration of visible-transparent/terahertz-functional electromagnetic structures in ultra-conductive La-doped BaSnO3 Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Arezoomandan, Sara; Prakash, Abhinav; Chanana, Ashish; Yue, Jin; Mao, Jieying; Blair, Steve; Nahata, Ajay; Jalan, Bharat; Sensale-Rodriguez, Berardi

2018-02-23

We report on terahertz characterization of La-doped BaSnO 3 (BSO) thin-films. BSO is a transparent complex oxide material, which has attracted substantial interest due to its large electrical conductivity and wide bandgap. The complex refractive index of these films is extracted in the 0.3 to 1.5 THz frequency range, which shows a metal-like response across this broad frequency window. The large optical conductivity found in these films at terahertz wavelengths makes this material an interesting platform for developing electromagnetic structures having a strong response at terahertz wavelengths, i.e. terahertz-functional, while being transparent at visible and near-IR wavelengths. As an example of such application, we demonstrate a visible-transparent terahertz polarizer.

An Indium-Free Anode for Large-Area Flexible OLEDs: Defect-Free Transparent Conductive Zinc Tin Oxide

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Morales-Masis, M.; Dauzou, F.; Jeangros, Q.; Dabirian, A.; Lifka, H.; Gierth, R.; Ruske, M.; Moet, D.; Hessler-Wyser, A.; Ballif, C.

2016-01-01

Flexible large-area organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) require highly conductive and transparent anodes for efficient and uniform light emission. Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) is the standard anode in industry. However, due to the scarcity of indium, alternative anodes that eliminate its use are

Influence of illumination and decay of electrical resistance of ITO nanoscale layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Somogyi, K. [MicroVacuum Ltd., Kerekgyarto u.: 10, H-1147 Budapest (Hungary)], E-mail: karoly.somogyi@microvacuum.com; Erdelyi, K.; Szendro, I. [MicroVacuum Ltd., Kerekgyarto u.: 10, H-1147 Budapest (Hungary)

2008-09-30

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is known as a transparent oxide with n-type electrical conductivity. However, the as grown ITO layers have high resistivity and the transparency is also limited. In this work, thin ITO layers were deposited by evaporation and then underwent a post-growth annealing. Annealing leads to a low electrical resistivity and to an enhanced transparency. Annealed samples show n-type conductivity. In this work, ITO layers of typically 10 nm thicknesses were deposited onto Si{sub 1-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 2} covered glass substrates and then annealed. First the conductivity was evaluated after the annealing. The rough, quick estimation was performed by simple two point direct resistance measurement, and then van der Pauw configuration and collinear four-point probe method were applied. The light sensitivity and storage time dependent stability were studied. It is demonstrated that the resistance decreases due to illumination, though only in a small extent. The measure and speed of the decrease depend on the wavelength of the light and the process is very slow (up to hours). The recovery of the starting resistance is also a slow process.

Transmission in Optically Transparent Core Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Kilper, Dan; Jensen, Rich; Petermann, Klaus; Karasek, Miroslav

2007-03-01

Call for Papers: Transmission in Optically Transparent Core Networks Guest Feature Editors Dan Kilper and Rich Jensen, Coordinating Associate Editors Klaus Petermann and Miroslav Karasek, Guest Feature Editors Submission deadline: 15 June 2007 Optically transparent networks in which optical transport signals are routed uninterrupted through multiple nodes have long been viewed as an important evolutionary step in fiber optic communications. More than a decade of research and development on transparent network technologies together with the requisite traffic growth has culminated in the recent deployment of commercial optically transparent systems. Although many of the traditional research goals of optical transmission remain important, optical transparency introduces new challenges. Greater emphasis is placed on system efficiency and control. The goal of minimizing signal terminations, which has been pursued through increasing reach and channel capacity, also can be realized through wavelength routing techniques. Rather than bounding system operation by rigid engineering rules, the physical layer is controlled and managed by automation tools. Many static signal impairments become dynamic due to network reconfiguration and transient fault events. Recently new directions in transmission research have emerged to address transparent networking problems. This special issue of the Journal of Optical Networking will examine the technologies and theory underpinning transmission in optically transparent core networks, including both metropolitan and long haul systems. Scope of Submission The special issue editors are soliciting high-quality original research papers related to transmission in optically transparent core networks. Although this does not include edge networks such as access or enterprise networks, core networks that have access capabilities will be considered in scope as will topics related to the interworking between core and edge networks. The core network

Transparent and conductive polyethylene oxide film by the introduction of individualized single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Yong Chae; Muramatsu, Hiroyuki; Park, Ki Chul; Shimamoto, Daisuke; Kim, Jin Hee; Hayashi, Takuya; Song, Sung Moo; Kim, Yoong Ahm; Endo, Morinobu; Dresselhaus, Mildred S

2009-12-16

It is demonstrated that an optically transparent and electrically conductive polyethylene oxide (PEO) film is fabricated by the introduction of individualized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The incorporated SWNTs in the PEO film sustain their intrinsic electronic and optical properties and, in addition, the intrinsic properties of the polymer matrix are retained. The individualized SWNTs with smaller diameter provide high transmittance as well as good electrical conductivity in PEO films. Copyright © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Degradation studies of transparent conductive electrodes on electroactive poly(vinylidene fluoride for uric acid measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vanessa F Cardoso, Pedro Martins, Gabriela Botelho, Luis Rebouta, Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez and Graca Minas

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Biochemical analysis of physiological fluids using, for example, lab-on-a-chip devices requires accurate mixing of two or more fluids. This mixing can be assisted by acoustic microagitation using a piezoelectric material, such as the β-phase of poly(vinylidene fluoride (β-PVDF. If the analysis is performed using optical absorption spectroscopy and β-PVDF is located in the optical path, the material and its conductive electrodes must be transparent. Moreover, if, to improve the transmission of the ultrasonic waves to the fluids, the piezoelectric transducer is placed inside the fluidic structures, its degradation must be assessed. In this paper, we report on the degradation properties of transparent conductive oxides, namely, indium tin oxide (ITO and aluminum-doped zinc oxide, when they are used as electrodes for providing acoustic microagitation. The latter promotes mixing of chemicals involved in the measurement of uric acid concentration in physiological fluids. The results are compared with those for aluminum electrodes. We find that β-PVDF samples with ITO electrodes do not degrade either with or without acoustic microagitation.

Degradation studies of transparent conductive electrodes on electroactive poly(vinylidene fluoride) for uric acid measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardoso, Vanessa F; Minas, Graca; Martins, Pedro; Rebouta, Luis; Lanceros-Mendez, Senentxu; Botelho, Gabriela

2010-01-01

Biochemical analysis of physiological fluids using, for example, lab-on-a-chip devices requires accurate mixing of two or more fluids. This mixing can be assisted by acoustic microagitation using a piezoelectric material, such as the β-phase of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (β-PVDF). If the analysis is performed using optical absorption spectroscopy and β-PVDF is located in the optical path, the material and its conductive electrodes must be transparent. Moreover, if, to improve the transmission of the ultrasonic waves to the fluids, the piezoelectric transducer is placed inside the fluidic structures, its degradation must be assessed. In this paper, we report on the degradation properties of transparent conductive oxides, namely, indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminum-doped zinc oxide, when they are used as electrodes for providing acoustic microagitation. The latter promotes mixing of chemicals involved in the measurement of uric acid concentration in physiological fluids. The results are compared with those for aluminum electrodes. We find that β-PVDF samples with ITO electrodes do not degrade either with or without acoustic microagitation.

Highly transparent ITO thin films on photosensitive glass: sol-gel synthesis, structure, morphology and optical properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koroesi, Laszlo; Papp, Szilvia; Dekany, Imre [University of Szeged, Supramolecular and Nanostructured Materials Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Szeged (Hungary); Beke, Szabolcs [Italian Institute of Technology, Department of Nanophysics, Genova (Italy); Pecz, Bela; Horvath, Robert; Petrik, Peter; Agocs, Emil [Research Institute for Technical Physics and Materials Science, Budapest (Hungary)

2012-05-15

Conductive and highly transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were prepared on photosensitive glass substrates by the combination of sol-gel and spin-coating techniques. First, the substrates were coated with amorphous Sn-doped indium hydroxide, and these amorphous films were then calcined at 550 {sup circle} C to produce crystalline and electrically conductive ITO layers. The resulting thin films were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The measurements revealed that the ITO films were composed of spherical crystallites around 20 nm in size with mainly cubic crystal structure. The ITO films acted as antireflection coatings increasing the transparency of the coated substrates compared to that of the bare supports. The developed ITO films with a thickness of {proportional_to}170-330 nm were highly transparent in the visible spectrum with sheet resistances of 4.0-13.7 k{omega}/sq. By coating photosensitive glass with ITO films, our results open up new perspectives in micro- and nano-technology, for example in fabricating conductive and highly transparent 3D microreactors. (orig.)

Spray coating of self-aligning passivation layer for metal grid lines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vuorinen, T.; Janka, M.; Rubingh, J.E.J.M.; Tuukkanen, S.; Groen, P.; Lupo, D.

2014-01-01

In applications such as organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) or photovoltaic cells a homogenous voltage distribution in the large anode layer needs to be ensured by including a metal grid with a transparent conductor layer. To ensure sufficient conductivity, relatively thick metal lines are used,

High spectral selectivity for solar absorbers using a monolayer transparent conductive oxide coated on a metal substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Shimizu, Makoto; Suzuki, Mari; Iguchi, Fumitada; Yugami, Hiroo

2017-05-01

A spectrally selective absorber composed of a monolayer transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coated on a metal substrate is investigated for use in solar systems operating at temperatures higher (>973 K) than the operation temperature of conventional systems ( ˜ 673 K). This method is different from the currently used solar-selective coating technologies, such as those using multilayered and cermet materials. The spectral selective absorption property can be attributed to the inherent optical property of TCO owing to the plasma frequency and interferences between the substrates. Since spectral selectivity can be achieved using monolayered materials, the effect of atomic diffusion occurring at each layer boundary in a multilayer or cermet coatings under high-temperature conditions can be reduced. In addition, since this property is attributed to the inherent property of TCO, the precise control of the layer thickness can be omitted if the layer is sufficiently thick (>0.5 μm). The optimum TCO properties, namely, carrier density and mobility, required for solar-selective absorbers are analyzed to determine the cutoff wavelength and emittance in the infrared range. A solar absorptance of 0.95 and hemispherical emittance of 0.10 at 973 K are needed for achieving the optimum TCO properties, i.e., a carrier density of 5.5 × 1020 cm-3 and mobility of 90 cm2 V-1 s-1 are required. Optical simulations indicate that the spectrally selective absorption weakly depends on the incident angle and film thickness. The thermal stability of the fabricated absorber treated at temperatures up to 973 K for 10 h is verified in vacuum by introducing a SiO2 interlayer, which plays an important role as a diffusion barrier.

An easy, low-cost method to transfer large-scale graphene onto polyethylene terephthalate as a transparent conductive flexible substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Chih-Sheng; Hsieh, Chien-Kuo

2014-01-01

In this study, we develop a low-cost method for transferring a large-scale graphene film onto a flexible transparent substrate. An easily accessible method for home-made chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and a commercial photograph laminator were utilized to fabricate the low-cost graphene-based transparent conductive flexible substrate. The graphene was developed based on CVD growth on nickel foil using a carbon gas source, and the graphene thin film was easily transferred onto the laminating film via a heated photograph laminator. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were utilized to examine the morphological characteristics of the graphene surface. Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to examine the microstructure of the graphene. The optical–electronic properties of the transferred graphene flexible thin film were measured by ultraviolet–visible spectrometry and a four-point probe. The advantage of this method is that large-scale graphene-based thin films can be easily obtained. We provide an economical method for fabricating a graphene-based transparent conductive flexible substrate. - Highlight: • We synthesized the large-scale graphene by thermal CVD method. • A low-cost commercial photograph laminator was used to transfer graphene. • A large-scale transparent and flexible graphene substrate was obtained easily

An easy, low-cost method to transfer large-scale graphene onto polyethylene terephthalate as a transparent conductive flexible substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Chih-Sheng; Hsieh, Chien-Kuo, E-mail: jack_hsieh@mail.mcut.edu.tw

2014-11-03

In this study, we develop a low-cost method for transferring a large-scale graphene film onto a flexible transparent substrate. An easily accessible method for home-made chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and a commercial photograph laminator were utilized to fabricate the low-cost graphene-based transparent conductive flexible substrate. The graphene was developed based on CVD growth on nickel foil using a carbon gas source, and the graphene thin film was easily transferred onto the laminating film via a heated photograph laminator. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were utilized to examine the morphological characteristics of the graphene surface. Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy were utilized to examine the microstructure of the graphene. The optical–electronic properties of the transferred graphene flexible thin film were measured by ultraviolet–visible spectrometry and a four-point probe. The advantage of this method is that large-scale graphene-based thin films can be easily obtained. We provide an economical method for fabricating a graphene-based transparent conductive flexible substrate. - Highlight: • We synthesized the large-scale graphene by thermal CVD method. • A low-cost commercial photograph laminator was used to transfer graphene. • A large-scale transparent and flexible graphene substrate was obtained easily.

Pulsed laser deposition of transparent conductive oxide thin films on flexible substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Socol, G.; Socol, M.; Stefan, N.; Axente, E.; Popescu-Pelin, G.; Craciun, D.; Duta, L.; Mihailescu, C.N.; Mihailescu, I.N.; Stanculescu, A.; Visan, D.; Sava, V.; Galca, A.C.; Luculescu, C.R.; Craciun, V.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► TCO thin films were grown by PLD on PET substrate at low temperature. ► We found that the quality of TCO on PET substrate depends on the target–substrate distance. ► TCO with high transparency (>95%) and reduced electrical resistivity (∼5 × 10 −4 Ω cm) were obtained. ► Optimized TCO films deposited on PET were free of any cracks. - Abstract: The influence of target–substrate distance during pulsed laser deposition of indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films grown on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates was investigated. It was found that the properties of such flexible transparent conductive oxide (TCO)/PET electrodes critically depend on this parameter. The TCO films that were deposited at distances of 6 and 8 cm exhibited an optical transmittance higher than 90% in the visible range and electrical resistivities around 5 × 10 −4 Ω cm. In addition to these excellent electrical and optical characteristics the films grown at 8 cm distance were homogenous, smooth, adherent, and without cracks or any other extended defects, being suitable for opto-electronic device applications.

Transparent and flexible electrodes and supercapacitors using polyaniline/single-walled carbon nanotube composite thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Jun; Cheng, Guanghui; Chen, Liwei

2011-08-01

Large-scale transparent and flexible electronic devices have been pursued for potential applications such as those in touch sensors and display technologies. These applications require that the power source of these devices must also comply with transparent and flexible features. Here we present transparent and flexible supercapacitors assembled from polyaniline (PANI)/single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) composite thin film electrodes. The ultrathin, optically homogeneous and transparent, electrically conducting films of the PANI/SWNT composite show a large specific capacitance due to combined double-layer capacitance and pseudo-capacitance mechanisms. A supercapacitor assembled using electrodes with a SWNT density of 10.0 µg cm-2 and 59 wt% PANI gives a specific capacitance of 55.0 F g-1 at a current density of 2.6 A g-1, showing its possibility for transparent and flexible energy storage.

Determination of chemical state of Al doping element in ZnO layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csik, A.; Toth, J.; Lovics, R.; Takats, V.; Hakl, J.; Vad, K.

2011-01-01

Complete text of publication follows. Transparent and conducting oxides (TCO) thin films are very important from the scientific and technological point of view. The coexistence of electrical conductivity and optical transparency in these materials makes it possible to use them in modern technologies: transparent electrodes for flat panel displays and photovoltaic cells, low emissivity windows, transparent thin films transistors, light emitting diodes. One of the important TCO semiconductors is the impurity-doped zinc-oxide (ZnO) layer, for example aluminium doped zinc-oxide layer (AZO), due to its unique physical and chemical properties. It has wide band gap (3.44 eV) and large exciton binding energy (60 meV). ZnO thin layers have a great interest for potential applications in optical and optoelectronic devices. Furthermore, high quality single crystal ZnO wafers has already been available as a result of new developments in ZnO growth technologies with the capability to scale up wafer size, which is an important factor for increasing efficiency of solar cells. Nonetheless, in order to enable the use of ZnO layers with enhanced electrical properties, higher conductivities can be obtained by doping with donor elements such as aluminium, gallium, indium, boron or fluorine. Investigation of p-type doping possibilities, diffusion processes and thermal stability of these layers are in the focus of interest in the interpretation of their optical and electrical properties, and the prediction of their lifetime. In our SNMS/SIMS-XPS laboratory, experiments on TCO layered structures were carried on. Depth profile and chemical state analyses of ZnO/AlO/ZnO layered structures were performed by Secondary Neutral Mass Spectrometry (SNMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The samples were produced by atomic layer deposition technique with the following layered structure: between a few hundred atomic layers of ZnO was an AlO atomic layer. The SNMS was used for depth

Wet chemical preparation of YVO{sub 4}:Eu thin films as red-emitting phosphor layers for fully transparent flat dielectric discharge lamp

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klausch, A. [Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Dresden University of Technology, Mommsenstr. 6, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Althues, H. [Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology Winterbergstr. 28, 01309 Dresden (Germany); Freudenberg, T. [Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Helmholtzstrasse 20, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Kaskel, S., E-mail: Stefan.Kaskel@chemie.tu-dresden.de [Institute for Inorganic Chemistry, Dresden University of Technology, Mommsenstr. 6, 01069 Dresden (Germany)

2012-04-30

Highly transparent YVO{sub 4}:Eu thin films were deposited via dip coating of liquid nanoparticle dispersions on glass substrates. Annealing of the nanoparticle layers resulted in restructuring of the material into oriented crystalline films. The crystallinity was confirmed using powder X-ray diffraction. Film thickness was adjusted to 467 nm by multiple deposition. The resulting coatings show > 99% absorbance for wavelength below 300 nm and > 90% transmission in the visible spectral range. Under UV-light excitation a bright red photoluminescence with a quantum efficiency of 20% is observed. A planar, transparent dielectric barrier discharge lamp was constructed using YVO{sub 4}:Eu coated glasses and transparent electrodes made from antimony-doped tin dioxide thin films. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Preparation of highly transparent Eu{sup 3+} doped YVO{sub 4} phosphor thin films. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Improved crystallinity and optical properties through heat treatment. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Red emitting films on glass substrates were combined with antimony tin oxide thin films. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Fully transparent, planar gas discharge lamp as prototype for a light emitting window.

Ultraviolet light-absorbing and emitting diodes consisting of a p-type transparent-semiconducting NiO film deposited on an n-type GaN homoepitaxial layer

Science.gov (United States)

Nakai, Hiroshi; Sugiyama, Mutsumi; Chichibu, Shigefusa F.

2017-05-01

Gallium nitride (GaN) and related (Al,Ga,In)N alloys provide practical benefits in the production of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes operating in ultraviolet (UV) to green wavelength regions. However, obtaining low resistivity p-type AlN or AlGaN of large bandgap energies (Eg) is a critical issue in fabricating UV and deep UV-LEDs. NiO is a promising candidate for useful p-type transparent-semiconducting films because its Eg is 4.0 eV and it can be doped into p-type conductivity of sufficiently low resistivity. By using these technologies, heterogeneous junction diodes consisting of a p-type transparent-semiconducting polycrystalline NiO film on an n-type single crystalline GaN epilayer on a low threading-dislocation density, free-standing GaN substrate were fabricated. The NiO film was deposited by using the conventional RF-sputtering method, and the GaN homoepitaxial layer was grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. They exhibited a significant photovoltaic effect under UV light and also exhibited an electroluminescence peak at 3.26 eV under forward-biased conditions. From the conduction and valence band (EV) discontinuities, the NiO/GaN heterointerface is assigned to form a staggered-type (TYPE-II) band alignment with the EV of NiO higher by 2.0 eV than that of GaN. A rectifying property that is consistent with the proposed band diagram was observed in the current-voltage characteristics. These results indicate that polycrystalline NiO functions as a hole-extracting and injecting layer of UV optoelectronic devices.

Transparent and Highly Responsive Phototransistors Based on a Solution-Processed, Nanometers-Thick Active Layer, Embedding a High-Mobility Electron-Transporting Polymer and a Hole-Trapping Molecule.

Science.gov (United States)

Caranzi, Lorenzo; Pace, Giuseppina; Sassi, Mauro; Beverina, Luca; Caironi, Mario

2017-08-30

Organic materials are suitable for light sensing devices showing unique features such as low cost, large area, and flexibility. Moreover, transparent photodetectors are interesting for smart interfaces, windows, and display-integrated electronics. The ease of depositing ultrathin organic films with simple techniques enables low light absorbing active layers, resulting in the realization of transparent devices. Here, we demonstrate a strategy to obtain high efficiency organic photodetectors and phototransistors based on transparent active layers with a visible transmittance higher than 90%. The photoactive layer is composed of two phases, each a few nanometers thick. First, an acceptor polymer, which is a good electron-transporting material, on top of which a small molecule donor material is deposited, forming noncontinuous domains. The small molecule phase acts as a trap for holes, thus inducing a high photoconductive gain, resulting in a high photoresponsivity. The organic transparent detectors proposed here can reach very high external quantum efficiency and responsivity values, which in the case of the phototransistors can be as high as ∼74000% and 340 A W -1 at 570 nm respectively, despite an absorber total thickness below 10 nm. Moreover, frequency dependent 2D photocurrent mapping allows discrimination between the contribution of a fast but inefficient and highly spatially localized photoinduced injection mechanism at the electrodes, and the onset of a slower and spatially extended photoconductive process, leading to high responsivity.

Transparent capacitors with hybrid ZnO:Al and Ag nanowires as electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Guozhen; Wu, Hao; Wang, Xiao; Wang, Ti; Liu, Chang

2016-01-01

Transparent conducting films with a composite structure of AlZnO–Ag nanowires (AgNWs) have been prepared by atomic layer deposition. The sheet resistance was reduced from 120 to 9 Ω when the AgNW networks were involved. Transparent capacitors with Al_2O_3–TiO_2–Al_2O_3 dielectrics were fabricated on the composite electrodes and demonstrated a capacitance density of 10.1 fF μm"−"2, which was significantly higher than that of capacitors with AlZnO electrodes (8.8 fF μm"−"1). The capacitance density remained almost unchanged in a broad frequency range from 3 kHz to 1 MHz. Moreover, a low leakage current density of 2.4 × 10"−"7 A cm"−"2 at 1 V was achieved. Transparent and flexible capacitors were also fabricated using the composite electrodes, and demonstrated an improved bendability. The transparent capacitors showed an average optical transmittance over 70% in the visible range, and thus open the door to practical applications in transparent integrated circuits. (paper)

Further improvements in conducting and transparent properties of ZnO:Ga films with perpetual c-axis orientation: Materials optimization and application in silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mondal, Praloy; Das, Debajyoti, E-mail: erdd@iacs.res.in

2017-07-31

Highlights: • ZnO:Ga film with perpetual c-axis orientation at low T{sub S} by RF magnetron sputtering. • High conductivity (200 S cm{sup −1}) and elevated transmission (∼93% at 500 nm) in nano-sheet like structure. • Si solar cell on ZnO:Ga with efficiency comparable to similar cell on U-type SnO{sub 2} coated Asahi glass. • Higher open circuit voltage and better fill factor with ZnO:Ga than SnO{sub 2}. - Abstract: Technologically appropriate device friendly ZnO:Ga films have been prepared at a low growth temperature (100 °C) by changing the RF power (P) applied to the magnetron plasma. Structurally preferred c-axis orientation of the ZnO:Ga network has been attained with I{sub 〈002〉}/I{sub 〈103〉} > 5. The c-axis oriented grains of wurtzite ZnO:Ga grows geometrically and settles in tangentially, providing favorable conduction path for stacked layer devices. Nano-sheet like structures produced at the surface are interconnected and provide conducting path across the surface; however, those accommodate a lot of pores in between that help better light trapping and reduce the reflection loss. The optimized ZnO:Ga thin film prepared at RF power of 200 W has 〈002〉 oriented grains of average size ∼10 nm and exhibits a very high conductivity ∼200 S cm{sup −1} and elevated transmission (∼93% at 500 nm) in the visible range. The optimized ZnO:Ga film has been used as the transparent conducting oxide (TCO) window layer of RF-PECVD grown silicon thin film solar cells in glass/TCO/p-i-n-Si/Al configuration. The characteristics of identically prepared p-i-n-Si solar cells are compared by replacing presently developed ZnO:Ga TCO with the best quality U-type SnO{sub 2} coated Asahi glass substrates. The ZnO:Ga coated glass substrate offers a higher open circuit voltage (V{sub OC}) and the higher fill factor (FF). The ZnO:Ga film being more stable in hydrogen plasma than its SnO{sub 2} counterpart, maintains a high transparency to the solar

Minimizing energy losses in perovskite solar cells using plasma-treated transparent conducting layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dao, Van-Duong [Department of Chemical Engineering, Chungnam National University, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of); Larina, Liudmila L. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Chungnam National University, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Solar Photovoltaics, Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119334 Moscow (Russian Federation); Choi, Ho-Suk, E-mail: hchoi@cnu.ac.kr [Department of Chemical Engineering, Chungnam National University, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 305-764 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-30

This study reports for increasing the efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by modifying the surface of a fluorine-doped indium tin oxide (FTO) substrate using an atmospheric pressure plasma treatment. Surface modification of the FTO film involved several challenges, such as control of the blocking layer uniformity, removal of pinholes, and deposition of a dense layer. This strategy allows the suppression of charge recombination at the interface between the FTO substrate and hole conductor. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis showed that the plasma treatment increased the charge transfer resistance between the FTO and hole conductor from 95.1 to 351.1 Ω, indicating enhanced resistance to the electron back reaction. Analyses of the open-circuit photovoltage decay revealed that modification of the surface of the FTO substrate by plasma treatment increased time constant from 6.44 ms to 13.15 ms. The effect is ascribed to suppression of the electron recombination rate. PSCs based on the newly developed electrode had 39% higher efficiency than reference devices. The obtained results provide direct evidence in favor of the developed strategy. - Highlights: • Plasma treatment of FTO glass effectively increases the efficiency of PSCs. • The surface becomes superhydrophilic after plasma treatment. • The superhydrophilic surface provides uniform and pinhole-free coverage of TiO{sub 2} BL. • The transmittance of the plasma-treated FTO/BL is higher than the pristine FTO/BL. • The electron recombination is reduced due to its high quality of TiO{sub 2} BL.

Basal-plane thermal conductivity of few-layer molybdenum disulfide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jo, Insun; Ou, Eric; Shi, Li; Pettes, Michael Thompson; Wu, Wei

2014-01-01

We report the in-plane thermal conductivity of suspended exfoliated few-layer molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) samples that were measured by suspended micro-devices with integrated resistance thermometers. The obtained room-temperature thermal conductivity values are (44–50) and (48–52) W m −1 K −1 for two samples that are 4 and 7 layers thick, respectively. For both samples, the peak thermal conductivity occurs at a temperature close to 120 K, above which the thermal conductivity is dominated by intrinsic phonon-phonon scattering although phonon scattering by surface disorders can still play an important role in these samples especially at low temperatures

Non-vacuum, single-step conductive transparent ZnO patterning by ultra-short pulsed laser annealing of solution-deposited nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Daeho; Pan, Heng; Kim, Eunpa; Grigoropoulos, Costas P. [University of California, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Berkeley, CA (United States); Ko, Seung Hwan [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Hee K. [AppliFlex LLC, Sunnyvale, CA (United States)

2012-04-15

A solution-processable, high-concentration transparent ZnO nanoparticle (NP) solution was successfully synthesized in a new process. A highly transparent ZnO thin film was fabricated by spin coating without vacuum deposition. Subsequent ultra-short-pulsed laser annealing at room temperature was performed to change the film properties without using a blanket high temperature heating process. Although the as-deposited NP thin film was not electrically conductive, laser annealing imparted a large conductivity increase and furthermore enabled selective annealing to write conductive patterns directly on the NP thin film without a photolithographic process. Conductivity enhancement could be obtained by altering the laser annealing parameters. Parametric studies including the sheet resistance and optical transmittance of the annealed ZnO NP thin film were conducted for various laser powers, scanning speeds and background gas conditions. The lowest resistivity from laser-annealed ZnO thin film was about 4.75 x 10{sup -2} {omega} cm, exhibiting a factor of 10{sup 5} higher conductivity than the previously reported furnace-annealed ZnO NP film and is even comparable to that of vacuum-deposited, impurity-doped ZnO films within a factor of 10. The process developed in this work was applied to the fabrication of a thin film transistor (TFT) device that showed enhanced performance compared with furnace-annealed devices. A ZnO TFT performance test revealed that by just changing the laser parameters, the solution-deposited ZnO thin film can also perform as a semiconductor, demonstrating that laser annealing offers tunability of ZnO thin film properties for both transparent conductors and semiconductors. (orig.)

Evaluating conducting network based transparent electrodes from geometrical considerations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Ankush [Chemistry and Physics of Materials Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, 560064 Bangalore (India); Kulkarni, G. U., E-mail: guk@cens.res.in [Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences, 560013 Bangalore (India)

2016-01-07

Conducting nanowire networks have been developed as viable alternative to existing indium tin oxide based transparent electrode (TE). The nature of electrical conduction and process optimization for electrodes have gained much from the theoretical models based on percolation transport using Monte Carlo approach and applying Kirchhoff's law on individual junctions and loops. While most of the literature work pertaining to theoretical analysis is focussed on networks obtained from conducting rods (mostly considering only junction resistance), hardly any attention has been paid to those made using template based methods, wherein the structure of network is neither similar to network obtained from conducting rods nor similar to well periodic geometry. Here, we have attempted an analytical treatment based on geometrical arguments and applied image analysis on practical networks to gain deeper insight into conducting networked structure particularly in relation to sheet resistance and transmittance. Many literature examples reporting networks with straight or curvilinear wires with distributions in wire width and length have been analysed by treating the networks as two dimensional graphs and evaluating the sheet resistance based on wire density and wire width. The sheet resistance values from our analysis compare well with the experimental values. Our analysis on various examples has revealed that low sheet resistance is achieved with high wire density and compactness with straight rather than curvilinear wires and with narrower wire width distribution. Similarly, higher transmittance for given sheet resistance is possible with narrower wire width but of higher thickness, minimal curvilinearity, and maximum connectivity. For the purpose of evaluating active fraction of the network, the algorithm was made to distinguish and quantify current carrying backbone regions as against regions containing only dangling or isolated wires. The treatment can be helpful in

Evaluating conducting network based transparent electrodes from geometrical considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Ankush; Kulkarni, G. U.

2016-01-01

Conducting nanowire networks have been developed as viable alternative to existing indium tin oxide based transparent electrode (TE). The nature of electrical conduction and process optimization for electrodes have gained much from the theoretical models based on percolation transport using Monte Carlo approach and applying Kirchhoff's law on individual junctions and loops. While most of the literature work pertaining to theoretical analysis is focussed on networks obtained from conducting rods (mostly considering only junction resistance), hardly any attention has been paid to those made using template based methods, wherein the structure of network is neither similar to network obtained from conducting rods nor similar to well periodic geometry. Here, we have attempted an analytical treatment based on geometrical arguments and applied image analysis on practical networks to gain deeper insight into conducting networked structure particularly in relation to sheet resistance and transmittance. Many literature examples reporting networks with straight or curvilinear wires with distributions in wire width and length have been analysed by treating the networks as two dimensional graphs and evaluating the sheet resistance based on wire density and wire width. The sheet resistance values from our analysis compare well with the experimental values. Our analysis on various examples has revealed that low sheet resistance is achieved with high wire density and compactness with straight rather than curvilinear wires and with narrower wire width distribution. Similarly, higher transmittance for given sheet resistance is possible with narrower wire width but of higher thickness, minimal curvilinearity, and maximum connectivity. For the purpose of evaluating active fraction of the network, the algorithm was made to distinguish and quantify current carrying backbone regions as against regions containing only dangling or isolated wires. The treatment can be helpful in

Magnetron sputtered transparent conductive zinc-oxide stabilized amorphous indium oxide thin films on polyethylene terephthalate substrates at ambient temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan, Y.; Zhang, X.-F.; Ding, Y.-T.

2013-01-01

Amorphous transparent conducting zinc-oxide stabilized indium oxide thin films, named amorphous indium zinc oxide (a-IZO), were deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering at ambient temperature on flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrates. It has been demonstrated that the electrical resistivity could attain as low as ∼ 5 × 10 −4 Ω cm, which was noticeably lower than amorphous indium tin oxide films prepared at the same condition, while the visible transmittance exceeded 84% with the refractive index of 1.85–2.00. In our experiments, introduction of oxygen gas appeared to be beneficial to the improvement of the transparency and electrical conductivity. Both free carrier absorption and indirect transition were observed and Burstein–Moss effect proved a-IZO to be a degenerated amorphous semiconductor. However, the linear relation between the optical band gap and the band tail width which usually observed in covalent amorphous semiconductor such as a-Si:H was not conserved. Besides, porosity could greatly determine the resistivity and optical constants for the thickness variation at this deposition condition. Furthermore, a broad photoluminescence peak around 510 nm was identified when more than 1.5 sccm oxygen was introduced. - Highlights: ► Highly conducting amorphous zinc-oxide stabilized indium oxide thin films were prepared. ► The films were fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate at ambient temperature. ► Introduction of oxygen can improve the transparency and electrical conductivity. ► The linear relation between optical band gap and band tail width was not conserved

Analysis of multi-layered films. [determining dye densities by applying a regression analysis to the spectral response of the composite transparency

Science.gov (United States)

Scarpace, F. L.; Voss, A. W.

1973-01-01

Dye densities of multi-layered films are determined by applying a regression analysis to the spectral response of the composite transparency. The amount of dye in each layer is determined by fitting the sum of the individual dye layer densities to the measured dye densities. From this, dye content constants are calculated. Methods of calculating equivalent exposures are discussed. Equivalent exposures are a constant amount of energy over a limited band-width that will give the same dye content constants as the real incident energy. Methods of using these equivalent exposures for analysis of photographic data are presented.

Far-IR transparency and dynamic infrared signature control with novel conducting polymer systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chandrasekhar, Prasanna; Dooley, T. J.

1995-09-01

Materials which possess transparency, coupled with active controllability of this transparency in the infrared (IR), are today an increasingly important requirement, for varied applications. These applications include windows for IR sensors, IR-region flat panel displays used in camouflage as well as in communication and sight through night-vision goggles, coatings with dynamically controllable IR-emissivity, and thermal conservation coatings. Among stringent requirements for these applications are large dynamic ranges (color contrast), 'multi-color' or broad-band characteristics, extended cyclability, long memory retention, matrix addressability, small area fabricability, low power consumption, and environmental stability. Among materials possessing the requirements for variation of IR signature, conducting polymers (CPs) appear to be the only materials with dynamic, actively controllable signature and acceptable dynamic range. Conventional CPs such as poly(alkyl thiophene), poly(pyrrole) or poly(aniline) show very limited dynamic range, especially in the far-IR, while also showing poor transparency. We have developed a number of novel CP systems ('system' implying the CP, the selected dopant, the synthesis method, and the electrolyte) with very wide dynamic range (up to 90% in both important IR regions, 3 - 5 (mu) and 8 - 12 (mu) ), high cyclability (to 105 cycles with less than 10% optical degradation), nearly indefinite optical memory retention, matrix addressability of multi-pixel displays, very wide operating temperature and excellent environmental stability, low charge capacity, and processability into areas from less than 1 mm2 to more than 100 cm2. The criteria used to design and arrive at these CP systems, together with representative IR signature data, are presented in this paper.

Electrical transport properties of spray deposited transparent conducting ortho-Zn2SnO4 thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Ramarajan, R.; Thangaraju, K.; Babu, R. Ramesh; Joseph, D. Paul

2018-04-01

Ortho Zinc Stannate (Zn2SnO4) exhibits excellent electrical and optical properties to serve as alternate transparent electrode in optoelectronic devices. Here we have optimized ortho-Zn2SnO4 thin film by spray pyrolysis method. Deposition was done onto a pre-heated glass substrate at a temperature of 400 °C. The XRD pattern indicated films to be polycrystalline with cubic structure. The surface of films had globular and twisted metal sheet like morphologies. Films were transparent in the visible region with band gap around 3.6 eV. Transport properties were studied by Hall measurements at 300 K. Activation energies were calculated from Arrhenius's plot from temperature dependent electrical measurements and the conduction mechanism is discussed.

Optical haze of randomly arranged silver nanowire transparent conductive films with wide range of nanowire diameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Marus

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The effect of the diameter of randomly arranged silver nanowires on the optical haze of silver nanowire transparent conductive films was studied. Proposed simulation model behaved similarly with the experimental results, and was used to theoretically study the optical haze of silver nanowires with diameters in the broad range from 30 nm and above. Our results show that a thickening of silver nanowires from 30 to 100 nm results in the increase of the optical haze up to 8 times, while from 100 to 500 nm the optical haze increases only up to 1.38. Moreover, silver nanowires with diameter of 500 nm possess up to 5% lower optical haze and 5% higher transmittance than 100 nm thick silver nanowires for the same 10-100 Ohm/sq sheet resistance range. Further thickening of AgNWs can match the low haze of 30 nm thick AgNWs, but at higher transmittance. The results obtained from this work allow deeper analysis of the silver nanowire transparent conductive films from the perspective of the diameter of nanowires for various optoelectronic devices.

Surface microstructure evolution of highly transparent and conductive Al-doped ZnO thin films and its application in CIGS solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Ke; Liu, Jingjing; Jin, Ranran; Liu, Jingling; Liu, Xinsheng; Lu, Zhangbo; Liu, Ya; Liu, Xiaolan; Du, Zuliang

2017-07-01

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) has attained intensive attention as being a very good transparent conducting oxide for photovoltaic applications. In this work, AZO films have been deposited on glass substrate by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The influences of substrate temperatures on morphological, structural, optical and electrical properties of AZO films were systematically investigated. The results indicate that all AZO films have the hexagonal structure with c-axis preferred orientation. Morphological and electrical measurements have revealed that the substrate temperatures have strong influence on the microstructure, optical and electrical properties of AZO films. The AZO film is highly transparent from ultraviolet up to near infrared range with highest average transparency exceeding 83%. The minimum resistivity is as low as 6.1 × 10-4 Ω cm. The carrier concentration and mobility are as high as 3.357 × 1020 cm-3 and 30.48 cm2/Vs, respectively. Finally, the performances of the AZO film are evaluated by its practical application in Cu(In1-xGax)Se2 (CIGS) photovoltaic device as a transparent electrode. Benefited from its highly transparent and conductive feature, the most efficient device reveals an efficiency of 7.8% with a short-circuit current density of 28.99 mA/cm2, an open-circuit voltage of 430 mV, and a fill factor of 62.44 under standard conditions.

Amorphous semiconducting and conducting transparent metal oxide thin films and production thereof

Science.gov (United States)

Perkins, John; Van Hest, Marinus Franciscus Antonius Maria; Ginley, David; Taylor, Matthew; Neuman, George A.; Luten, Henry A.; Forgette, Jeffrey A.; Anderson, John S.

2010-07-13

Metal oxide thin films and production thereof are disclosed. An exemplary method of producing a metal oxide thin film may comprise introducing at least two metallic elements and oxygen into a process chamber to form a metal oxide. The method may also comprise depositing the metal oxide on a substrate in the process chamber. The method may also comprise simultaneously controlling a ratio of the at least two metallic elements and a stoichiometry of the oxygen during deposition. Exemplary amorphous metal oxide thin films produced according to the methods herein may exhibit highly transparent properties, highly conductive properties, and/or other opto-electronic properties.

Fibrous flexible solid-type dye-sensitized solar cells without transparent conducting oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan Xing; Chu Zengze; Chen Lin; Zhang Chao; Wang Fuzhi; Tang Yanwei; Sun Jianliang; Zou Dechun

2008-01-01

We have explored a type of all-solid fibrous flexible dye-sensitized solar cells without transparent conducting oxide based on a CuI electrolyte. The working electrode's substrate is a metal wire. Cu wire counterelectrode is twisted with the dye-sensitized and CuI-coated working electrode. The cell's apparent diameter is about 150 μm. The cell's current-voltage output depends little on the incident angle of light. A 4-cm-long fibrous cell's open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current generate 304 mV and 0.032 mA, respectively. The interfacial interaction between the two electrodes has a significant influence on the inner charge transfer of the cell

Laser welding of nanoparticulate TiO2 and transparent conducting oxide electrodes for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jinsoo; Kim, Jonghyun; Lee, Myeongkyu

2010-01-01

Poor interfacial contact is often encountered in nanoparticulate film-based devices. The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a representative case in which a nanoporous TiO 2 electrode needs to be prepared on the transparent conducting oxide (TCO)-coated glass substrate. In this study, we demonstrate that the inter-electrode contact resistance accounts for a considerable portion of the total resistance of a DSSC and its efficiency can be greatly enhanced by welding the interface with a laser. TiO 2 films formed on the TCO-coated glass substrate were irradiated with a pulsed ultraviolet laser beam at 355 nm; this transmits through the TCO and glass but is strongly absorbed by TiO 2 . Electron microscopy analysis and impedance measurements showed that a thin continuous TiO 2 layer is formed at the interface as a result of the local melting of TiO 2 nanoparticles and this layer completely bridges the gap between the two electrodes, improving the current flow with a reduced contact resistance. We were able to improve the efficiency by 35-65% with this process. DSSCs fabricated using a homemade TiO 2 paste revealed an efficiency improvement from η = 3.3% to 5.4%, and an increase from 8.2% to 11.2% was achieved with the TiO 2 electrodes made from a commercial paste.

Structural Engineering of Metal-Mesh Structure Applicable for Transparent Electrodes Fabricated by Self-Formable Cracked Template

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeong-gyu Kim

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Flexible and transparent conducting electrodes are essential for future electronic devices. In this study, we successfully fabricated a highly-interconnected metal-mesh structure (MMS using a self-formable cracked template. The template—fabricated from colloidal silica—can be easily formed and removed, presenting a simple and cost-effective way to construct a randomly and uniformly networked MMS. The structure of the MMS can be controlled by varying the spin-coating speed during the coating of the template solution or by stacking of metal-mesh layers. Through these techniques, the optical transparency and sheet resistance of the MMS can be designed for a specific purpose. A double-layered Al MMS showed high optical transparency (~80% in the visible region, low sheet resistance (~20 Ω/sq, and good flexibility under bending test compared with a single-layered MMS, because of its highly-interconnected wire structure. Additionally, we identified the applicability of the MMS in the case of practical devices by applying it to electrodes of thin-film transistors (TFTs. The TFTs with MMS electrodes showed comparable electrical characteristics to those with conventional film-type electrodes. The cracked template can be used for the fabrication of a mesh structure consisting of any material, so it can be used for not only transparent electrodes, but also various applications such as solar cells, sensors, etc.

Fullerene-Based Electron Transport Layers for Semi-Transparent MAPbBr3 Perovskite Films in Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lung-Chien Chen

2016-10-01

Full Text Available In this study, four kinds of structures—[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM, PCBM/fullerene (C60, C60/bathocuproine (BCP, and PCBM/C60/BCP—were used as electron transport layers, and the structure, and optical and electronic behaviors of MAPbBr3 perovskite layers after annealing treatments were observed. The experimental results indicate that PCBM/C60 bi-layer structure is acceptable for MAPbBr3 planar perovskite solar cells due to electron step transporting. Low-temperature annealing is suitable for smooth and large grain MAPbBr3 films. The semi-transparent yellow C60/PCBM/MAPbBr3/PEDOT:PSS/ITO glass-structure solar cells exhibit the best performance with a power conversion efficiency of 4.19%. The solar cells are revealed to be suitable for application in building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV systems.

Nitrogen grain-boundary passivation of In-doped ZnO transparent conducting oxide

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, D.; Butt, M. Z.; Coughlan, C.; Caffrey, D.; Shvets, I. V.; Fleischer, K.

2018-04-01

We have investigated the properties and conduction limitations of spray pyrolysis grown, low-cost transparent conducting oxide ZnO thin films doped with indium. We analyze the optical, electrical, and crystallographic properties as functions of In content with a specific focus on postgrowth heat treatment of these thin films at 320 ∘C in an inert, nitrogen atmosphere, which improves the films electrical properties considerably. The effect was found to be dominated by nitrogen-induced grain-boundary passivation, identified by a combined study using i n situ resistance measurement upon annealing, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and x-ray diffraction studies. We also highlight the chemical mechanism of morphologic and crystallographic changes found in films with high indium content. By optimizing growth conditions according to these findings, ZnO:In with a resistivity as low as 2 ×10 -3Ω cm , high optical quality (T ≈90 % ), and sheet resistance of 32 Ω /□ has been obtained without any need for postgrowth treatments.

A carbon nanotube-based transparent conductive substrate for flexible ZnO dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Du, Juan; Bittner, Florian [Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstr. 3a, 30167 Hannover (Germany); Hecht, David S.; Ladous, Corinne [Unidym, 1244 Reamwood Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA (United States); Ellinger, Jan [Tesa SE, Quickbornstr. 24, 20253 Hamburg (Germany); Oekermann, Torsten, E-mail: torstensan@t-online.de [Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstr. 3a, 30167 Hannover (Germany); Wark, Michael, E-mail: michael.wark@techem.ruhr-uni-bochum.de [Institute of Physical Chemistry and Electrochemistry, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstr. 3a, 30167 Hannover (Germany); Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitaetsstr. 150, 44801 Bochum (Germany)

2013-03-01

A transparent carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated polyethylenterephthalat film was used as conducting substrate for the photoanode of a flexible ZnO-based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The porous ZnO films were fabricated by an electrochemical deposition method at low temperature. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that the CNT/ZnO interface adds to the overall impedance of the cell, leading to a higher series resistance compared to DSSCs based on substrates employing a transparent conducting oxide. Nevertheless, an overall conversion efficiency of 2.5% was obtained with porous ZnO films electrodeposited on the CNT substrate for 60 min. Thicker films led to an increased loss by recombination, which could not be compensated by faster electron transport due to the decrease of the light intensity inside the ZnO film with increasing distance from the back contact. - Highlights: ► ZnO was electrochemically deposited on carbon nanotube (CNT) coated polymer. ► Highly porous ZnO was obtained at temperatures not exceeding 70 °C. ► The porous ZnO was tested as photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells. ► Conversion efficiency of 2.5% was found on the high resistance CNT substrates. ► Barriers formed at the CNT–ZnO interface are determined by impedance spectroscopy.

A carbon nanotube-based transparent conductive substrate for flexible ZnO dye-sensitized solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, Juan; Bittner, Florian; Hecht, David S.; Ladous, Corinne; Ellinger, Jan; Oekermann, Torsten; Wark, Michael

2013-01-01

A transparent carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated polyethylenterephthalat film was used as conducting substrate for the photoanode of a flexible ZnO-based dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The porous ZnO films were fabricated by an electrochemical deposition method at low temperature. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that the CNT/ZnO interface adds to the overall impedance of the cell, leading to a higher series resistance compared to DSSCs based on substrates employing a transparent conducting oxide. Nevertheless, an overall conversion efficiency of 2.5% was obtained with porous ZnO films electrodeposited on the CNT substrate for 60 min. Thicker films led to an increased loss by recombination, which could not be compensated by faster electron transport due to the decrease of the light intensity inside the ZnO film with increasing distance from the back contact. - Highlights: ► ZnO was electrochemically deposited on carbon nanotube (CNT) coated polymer. ► Highly porous ZnO was obtained at temperatures not exceeding 70 °C. ► The porous ZnO was tested as photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cells. ► Conversion efficiency of 2.5% was found on the high resistance CNT substrates. ► Barriers formed at the CNT–ZnO interface are determined by impedance spectroscopy

Optoelectronic device with nanoparticle embedded hole injection/transport layer

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qingwu [Chelmsford, MA; Li, Wenguang [Andover, MA; Jiang, Hua [Methuen, MA

2012-01-03

An optoelectronic device is disclosed that can function as an emitter of optical radiation, such as a light-emitting diode (LED), or as a photovoltaic (PV) device that can be used to convert optical radiation into electrical current, such as a photovoltaic solar cell. The optoelectronic device comprises an anode, a hole injection/transport layer, an active layer, and a cathode, where the hole injection/transport layer includes transparent conductive nanoparticles in a hole transport material.

Size-controlled InGaN/GaN nanorod LEDs with an ITO/graphene transparent layer

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Jae-Phil; Seong, Won-Seok; Min, Jung-Hong; Kong, Duk-Jo; Seo, Dong-Ju; Kim, Hyung-jun; Lee, Dong-Seon

2016-11-01

We introduce ITO on graphene as a current-spreading layer for separated InGaN/GaN nanorod LEDs for the purpose of passivation-free and high light-extraction efficiency. Transferred graphene on InGaN/GaN nanorods effectively blocks the diffusion of ITO atoms to nanorods, facilitating the production of transparent ITO/graphene contact on parallel-nanorod LEDs, without filling the air gaps, like a bridge structure. The ITO/graphene layer sufficiently spreads current in a lateral direction, resulting in uniform and reliable light emission observed from the whole area of the top surface. Using KOH treatment, we reduce series resistance and reverse leakage current in nanorod LEDs by recovering the plasma-damaged region. We also control the size of the nanorods by varying the KOH treatment time and observe strain relaxation via blueshift in electroluminescence. As a result, bridge-structured LEDs with 8 min of KOH treatment show 15 times higher light-emitting efficiency than with 2 min of KOH treatment.

Broadband polarization-independent and low-profile optically transparent metamaterial absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Long; Xi, Rui; Liu, Haixia; Lv, Zhiyong

2018-05-01

A transparent metamaterial absorber with simultaneously high optical transparency and broadband microwave absorption is presented in this paper. Consisting of a two-layer soda-lime glass substrate and three-layer patch-shaped indium tin oxide (ITO) films, the proposed absorber has advantages of broadband absorption with an absorptivity higher than 85% in the range from 6.1 to 22.1 GHz, good polarization insensitiveness, a high transparency, a low profile, and wide-incident-angle stability. A prototype of the proposed absorber is fabricated and experimentally measured to demonstrate its excellent performance. The measured results agree well with the theoretical design and numerical simulations.

Convenient preparation of ITO nanoparticles inks for transparent conductive thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ito, Daisuke; Masuko, Keiichiro; Weintraub, Benjamin A.; McKenzie, Lallie C.; Hutchison, James E.

2012-01-01

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanoparticles are useful precursors to transparent electrodes in a variety of technologically important applications. We synthesized ITO nanoparticles from indium and tin acetylacetonates in oleyl alcohol using a novel temperature ramp profile. The monodispersed ITO nanoparticles have an average diameter of 8.6 nm and form dense, flat films by simple spin coating. The thickness of the film can be controlled by varying the number of additional depositions. The resulting ITO film is transparent and has a resistivity of 7 × 10 −3 Ω cm after sintering at 300 °C. Using a suitable solvent, it is possible to coat high-aspect-ratio structures with ITO nanoparticles. This approach to ITO coatings is greener and offers a number of advantages for transparent electrodes because it is highly versatile, easily scalable, and supports low-cost manufacturing.

Transparent Conductive Nanostructures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2008-06-22

The objectives of this program between UT-Battelle, LLC (the ''Contractor'') and (Battelle Memorial Institute) (the "Participant") were directed towards achieving significant improvement: in the electrical conductivity and optical/infrared transmission of single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT)-based composite materials. These materials will be used in coating applications that range from aircraft canopies to display applications. The goal of the project was to obtain supported mats of SWNTs with sheet conductivities approaching 10 ohms/square combined with high optical transmission (>85% transmission at 550 nm), thereby permitting their application as a replacement for indium tin oxide (ITO) in a variety of applications such as flexible displays.

Application of hydrogen-doped In2O3 transparent conductive oxide to thin-film microcrystalline Si solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koida, Takashi; Sai, Hitoshi; Kondo, Michio

2010-01-01

Hydrogen-doped In 2 O 3 (IO:H) films with high electron mobility and improved near-infrared (NIR) transparency have been applied as a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) electrode in substrate-type hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) solar cells. The incorporation of IO:H, instead of conventional Sn-doped In 2 O 3 , improved the short-circuit current density (J sc ) and the resulting conversion efficiency. Optical analysis of the solar cells and TCO films revealed that the improvement in J sc is due to the improved spectral sensitivity in the visible and NIR wavelengths by reduction of absorption loss caused by free carriers in the TCO films.

Low Temperature Synthesis of Fluorine-Doped Tin Oxide Transparent Conducting Thin Film by Spray Pyrolysis Deposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Eun-Byul; Choi, Jae-Seok; Jung, Hyunsung; Choi, Sung-Churl; Kim, Chang-Yeoul

2016-02-01

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) is widely used for the application of flat panel display like liquid crystal displays and plasma display panel. It is also applied in the field of touch panel, solar cell electrode, low-emissivity glass, defrost window, and anti-static material. Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) thin films were fabricated by spray pyrolysis of ethanol-added FTO precursor solutions. FTO thin film by spray pyrolysis is very much investigated and normally formed at high temperature, about 500 degrees C. However, these days, flexible electronics draw many attentions in the field of IT industry and the research for flexible transparent conducting thin film is also required. In the industrial field, indium-tin oxide (ITO) film on polymer substrate is widely used for touch panel and displays. In this study, we investigated the possibility of FTO thin film formation at relatively low temperature of 250 degrees C. We found out that the control of volume of input precursor and exhaust gases could make it possible to form FTO thin film with a relatively low electrical resistance, less than 100 Ohm/sq and high optical transmittance about 88%.

Deep vs shallow nature of oxygen vacancies and consequent n -type carrier concentrations in transparent conducting oxides

Science.gov (United States)

Buckeridge, J.; Catlow, C. R. A.; Farrow, M. R.; Logsdail, A. J.; Scanlon, D. O.; Keal, T. W.; Sherwood, P.; Woodley, S. M.; Sokol, A. A.; Walsh, A.

2018-05-01

The source of n -type conductivity in undoped transparent conducting oxides has been a topic of debate for several decades. The point defect of most interest in this respect is the oxygen vacancy, but there are many conflicting reports on the shallow versus deep nature of its related electronic states. Here, using a hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical embedded cluster approach, we have computed formation and ionization energies of oxygen vacancies in three representative transparent conducting oxides: In2O3 ,SnO2, and ZnO. We find that, in all three systems, oxygen vacancies form well-localized, compact donors. We demonstrate, however, that such compactness does not preclude the possibility of these states being shallow in nature, by considering the energetic balance between the vacancy binding electrons that are in localized orbitals or in effective-mass-like diffuse orbitals. Our results show that, thermodynamically, oxygen vacancies in bulk In2O3 introduce states above the conduction band minimum that contribute significantly to the observed conductivity properties of undoped samples. For ZnO and SnO2, the states are deep, and our calculated ionization energies agree well with thermochemical and optical experiments. Our computed equilibrium defect and carrier concentrations, however, demonstrate that these deep states may nevertheless lead to significant intrinsic n -type conductivity under reducing conditions at elevated temperatures. Our study indicates the importance of oxygen vacancies in relation to intrinsic carrier concentrations not only in In2O3 , but also in SnO2 and ZnO.

Tungsten oxide proton conducting films for low-voltage transparent oxide-based thin-film transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Hongliang; Wan, Qing; Wan, Changjin; Wu, Guodong; Zhu, Liqiang

2013-01-01

Tungsten oxide (WO x ) electrolyte films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering showed a high room temperature proton conductivity of 1.38 × 10 −4 S/cm with a relative humidity of 60%. Low-voltage transparent W-doped indium-zinc-oxide thin-film transistors gated by WO x -based electrolytes were self-assembled on glass substrates by one mask diffraction method. Enhancement mode operation with a large current on/off ratio of 4.7 × 10 6 , a low subthreshold swing of 108 mV/decade, and a high field-effect mobility 42.6 cm 2 /V s was realized. Our results demonstrated that WO x -based proton conducting films were promising gate dielectric candidates for portable low-voltage oxide-based devices.

Cesium-incorporated indium-tin-oxide films for use as a cathode with low work function for a transparent organic light-emitting device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchida, Takayuki; Mimura, Toshifumi; Ohtsuka, Masao; Otomo, Toshio; Ide, Mieko; Shida, Azusa; Sawada, Yutaka

2006-01-01

Transparent organic light-emitting devices (TOLEDs) were successfully fabricated utilizing a novel transparent conducting cathode with low work function. Cesium-incorporated indium-tin-oxide film was deposited on the organic layers with negligible damage by simultaneous operation of RF magnetron sputtering using an ITO target and vacuum evaporation of metallic cesium. Incorporation of cesium in the ITO film was confirmed by XPS analysis. The work function (4.3 eV) determined by photoelectron spectroscopy in air (PESA) was lower than that of 0.3-0.4-eV without cesium-incorporation and stable under the atmospheric environment. The electron injection efficiency of cesium-incorporated ITO cathode in the present transparent OLED fabricated was comparable to that of the previous double-layered structure comprising of ITO cathode and an organic buffer layer (BCP) doped by evaporation of cesium [T. Uchida, S. Kaneta, M. Ichihara, M. Ohtsuka, T. Otomo, D.R. Marx, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 44, No. 9 (2005) L282

Transparent conducting oxide films of group V doped titania prepared by aqueous chemical solution deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elen, Ken; Capon, Boris; De Dobbelaere, Christopher; Dewulf, Daan; Peys, Nick; Detavernier, Christophe; Hardy, An; Van Bael, Marlies K.

2014-01-01

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films of titania doped with vanadium (V), niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta) are obtained by aqueous Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD). The effect of the dopant on the crystallization and microstructure of the resulting films is examined by means of X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. During annealing of the thin films, in-situ characterization of the crystal structure and sheet resistance is carried out. Niobium doped anatase films, obtained after annealing in forming gas, show a resistivity of 0,28 Ohm cm, which is the lowest resistivity reported for a solution deposited anatase-based TCO so far. Here, we demonstrate that aqueous CSD may provide a strategy for scalable TCO production in the future. - Highlights: • Aqueous chemical solution deposition of doped titanium dioxide • Doping delays the phase transition from anatase to rutile • Lowest resistivity after doping with niobium and annealing in Forming Gas • Transparency higher than 80% in the visible range of optical spectrum

Transparent conducting oxide films of group V doped titania prepared by aqueous chemical solution deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elen, Ken [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); IMEC vzw division IMOMEC, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Strategisch Initiatief Materialen (SIM), SoPPoM Program (Belgium); Capon, Boris [Strategisch Initiatief Materialen (SIM), SoPPoM Programm (Belgium); Coating and Contacting of Nanostructures, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S1, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium); De Dobbelaere, Christopher [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Dewulf, Daan [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); IMEC vzw division IMOMEC, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Peys, Nick [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); IMEC vzw, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Heverlee (Belgium); Detavernier, Christophe [Coating and Contacting of Nanostructures, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S1, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium); Hardy, An [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); IMEC vzw division IMOMEC, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); Van Bael, Marlies K., E-mail: marlies.vanbael@uhasselt.be [Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium); IMEC vzw division IMOMEC, Agoralaan Building D, B-3590 Diepenbeek (Belgium)

2014-03-31

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films of titania doped with vanadium (V), niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta) are obtained by aqueous Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD). The effect of the dopant on the crystallization and microstructure of the resulting films is examined by means of X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. During annealing of the thin films, in-situ characterization of the crystal structure and sheet resistance is carried out. Niobium doped anatase films, obtained after annealing in forming gas, show a resistivity of 0,28 Ohm cm, which is the lowest resistivity reported for a solution deposited anatase-based TCO so far. Here, we demonstrate that aqueous CSD may provide a strategy for scalable TCO production in the future. - Highlights: • Aqueous chemical solution deposition of doped titanium dioxide • Doping delays the phase transition from anatase to rutile • Lowest resistivity after doping with niobium and annealing in Forming Gas • Transparency higher than 80% in the visible range of optical spectrum.

A phosphor-free white light-emitting diode using In2O3 : Tb transparent conductive light converter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Lung-Chien; Tien, Ching-Ho; Liao, Wei-Chian

2011-01-01

Tb-doped indium oxide (In 2 O 3 : Tb) films were deposited on a GaN-based near-ultraviolet (NUV) light-emitting diode (LED) as a transparent conductive light converter to form a white LED. The transmittance of the In 2 O 3 : Tb film (Tb at 10 wt%) exceeded 80% in visible light and the resistivity was 0.325 Ω cm. The In 2 O 3 : Tb transparent conductive light converter was also employed on GaN-based LEDs. GaN-based NUV-LEDs with In 2 O 3 : Tb film (Tb at 10 wt%) produced forward biases of 3.42 V at an injection current of 20 mA. With increasing temperature, increasing Tb 3+ concentration and increasing injection current from 20 to 100 mA, the chromaticity coordinates barely changed in the white light area. Therefore, the GaN-based NUV-LED with In 2 O 3 : Tb film had a stable white light colour, when temperature and injection current changed, and is suitable for solid-state lighting.

Stable and Controllable Synthesis of Silver Nanowires for Transparent Conducting Film

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Bitao; Yan, Hengqing; Chen, Shanyong; Guan, Youwei; Wu, Guoguo; Jin, Rong; Li, Lu

2017-03-01

Silver nanowires without particles are synthesized by a solvothermal method at temperature 150 °C. Silver nanowires are prepared via a reducing agent of glycerol and a capping agent of polyvinylpyrrolidone ( M w ≈ 1,300,000). Both of them can improve the purity of the as-prepared silver nanowires. With controllable shapes and sizes, silver nanowires are grown continuously up to 10-20 μm in length with 40-50 nm in diameter. To improve the yield of silver nanowires, the different concentrations of AgNO3 synthesis silver nanowires are discussed. The characterizations of the synthesized silver nanowires are analyzed by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscope (AFM), and silver nanowires are pumped on the cellulose membrane and heated stress on the PET. Then, the cellulose membrane is dissolved by the steam of acetone to prepare flexible transparent conducting thin film, which is detected 89.9 of transmittance and 58 Ω/□. Additionally, there is a close loop connected by the thin film, a blue LED, a pair of batteries, and a number of wires, to determinate directly the film if conductive or not.

Transparent platinum counter electrode for efficient semi-transparent dye-sensitized solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iefanova, Anastasiia; Nepal, Jeevan; Poudel, Prashant; Davoux, Daren; Gautam, Umesh [Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006 (United States); Mallam, Venkataiah [Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006 (United States); Qiao, Qiquan [Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006 (United States); Logue, Brian [Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006 (United States); Baroughi, Mahdi Farrokh, E-mail: m.farrokhbaroughi@sdstate.edu [Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006 (United States)

2014-07-01

A method for fabrication of highly transparent platinum counter electrodes (CEs) has been developed based on spray coating of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) on hot substrates. This method leads to 86% reduction in Pt consumption reducing the Pt cost per peak watt of counter electrode from $0.79/Wp down to $0.11/Wp compared to the conventional Pt counter electrodes made by sputter deposition. The simplicity and low cost of this method provide a basis for an up-scalable fabrication process. The Pt NP layer is over 88% transparent, leading to overall transparency of 80% when incorporated with indium tin oxide/glass substrates for functional counter electrodes. This counter electrode exhibits a large surface area and high catalytic activity, comparable to that of the conventional opaque CEs. Semi-transparent dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated based on this counter electrode showed 6.17% power conversion efficiency. - Highlights: • Counter electrode (CE) prepared by spraying nanoparticle (NP) Pt on hot substrate. • Low cost and scalable fabrication process of CE. • The spray deposited CE uses 10 times less Pt compared to the sputtering method. • The CE is 80% transparent and exhibits a large surface and high catalytic activity. • A semitransparent dye-sensitized solar cell with Pt NP CE was 6.17% efficient.

Properties of TiO2-based transparent conducting oxide thin films on GaN(0001) surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kasai, J.; Nakao, S.; Yamada, N.; Hitosugi, T.; Moriyama, M.; Goshonoo, K.; Hoang, N. L. H.; Hasegawa, T.

2010-01-01

Anatase Nb-doped TiO 2 transparent conducting oxide has been formed on GaN(0001) surfaces using a sputtering method. Amorphous films deposited at room temperature were annealed at a substrate temperature of 500 deg. C in vacuum to form single-phase anatase films. Films with a thickness of 170 nm exhibited a resistivity of 8x10 -4 Ω cm with absorptance less than 5% at a wavelength of 460 nm. Furthermore, the refractive index of the Nb-doped TiO 2 was well matched to that of GaN. These findings indicate that Nb-doped TiO 2 is a promising material for use as transparent electrodes in GaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs), particularly since reflection at the electrode/GaN boundary can be suppressed, enhancing the external quantum efficiency of blue LEDs.

Ag/Au/Polypyrrole Core-shell Nanowire Network for Transparent, Stretchable and Flexible Supercapacitor in Wearable Energy Devices

OpenAIRE

Moon, Hyunjin; Lee, Habeom; Kwon, Jinhyeong; Suh, Young Duk; Kim, Dong Kwan; Ha, Inho; Yeo, Junyeob; Hong, Sukjoon; Ko, Seung Hwan

2017-01-01

Transparent and stretchable energy storage devices have attracted significant interest due to their potential to be applied to biocompatible and wearable electronics. Supercapacitors that use the reversible faradaic redox reaction of conducting polymer have a higher specific capacitance as compared with electrical double-layer capacitors. Typically, the conducting polymer electrode is fabricated through direct electropolymerization on the current collector. However, no research have been cond...

Laser welding of nanoparticulate TiO{sub 2} and transparent conducting oxide electrodes for highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jinsoo; Kim, Jonghyun; Lee, Myeongkyu, E-mail: myeong@yonsei.ac.kr [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of)

2010-08-27

Poor interfacial contact is often encountered in nanoparticulate film-based devices. The dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a representative case in which a nanoporous TiO{sub 2} electrode needs to be prepared on the transparent conducting oxide (TCO)-coated glass substrate. In this study, we demonstrate that the inter-electrode contact resistance accounts for a considerable portion of the total resistance of a DSSC and its efficiency can be greatly enhanced by welding the interface with a laser. TiO{sub 2} films formed on the TCO-coated glass substrate were irradiated with a pulsed ultraviolet laser beam at 355 nm; this transmits through the TCO and glass but is strongly absorbed by TiO{sub 2}. Electron microscopy analysis and impedance measurements showed that a thin continuous TiO{sub 2} layer is formed at the interface as a result of the local melting of TiO{sub 2} nanoparticles and this layer completely bridges the gap between the two electrodes, improving the current flow with a reduced contact resistance. We were able to improve the efficiency by 35-65% with this process. DSSCs fabricated using a homemade TiO{sub 2} paste revealed an efficiency improvement from {eta} = 3.3% to 5.4%, and an increase from 8.2% to 11.2% was achieved with the TiO{sub 2} electrodes made from a commercial paste.

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide films as transparent conductive electrode for organic light-emitting devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, X.; Wong, F.L.; Fung, M.K.; Lee, S.T.

2003-01-01

Highly transparent conductive, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) films were deposited on glass substrates by midfrequency magnetron sputtering of metallic aluminum-doped zinc target. ZnO:Al films with surface work functions between 3.7 and 4.4 eV were obtained by varying the sputtering conditions. Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) were fabricated on these ZnO:Al films. A current efficiency of higher than 3.7 cd/A, was achieved. For comparison, 3.9 cd/A was achieved by the reference OLEDs fabricated on commercial indium-tin-oxide substrates

Improved transparent-conducting properties in N2- and H2- annealed GaZnO thin films grown on glass substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Youngmin; Kim, Deukyoung; Lee, Sejoon

2012-01-01

The effects of N 2 - and H 2 - annealing on the transparent-conducting properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GaZnO) were examined. The as-grown GaZnO thin film, which was deposited on a soda-lime glass substrate by r.f. magnetron sputtering, exhibited moderate transparent-conducting properties: a resistivity of ∼10 0 Ω·cm and an optical transmittance of ∼86%. After annealing in N 2 or H 2 , the GaZnO samples showed great improvements in both the electrical and the optical properties. Particularly, in the H 2 -annealed sample, a dramatic decrease in the resistivity (7 x 10 -4 Ω·cm) with a considerable increase in the carrier concentration (4.22 x 10 21 cm -3 ) was observed. This is attributed to both an increase in the number of Ga-O bonds and a reduction in the number of chemisorbed oxygen atoms though H 2 annealing. The sample revealed an enhanced optical transmittance (∼91%), which comes from the Burstein-Moss effect. Namely, a blue-shift of the optical absorption edge, which results from the increased carrier concentration, was observed in the H 2 -annealed sample. The results suggest that hydrogen annealing can help improve the transparent conducting properties of GaZnO via a modification of the electrochemical bonding structures.

Transparent Conductive In and Ga Doped ZnO/Cu Bi-Layered Films Deposited by DC and RF Magnetron Sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, Hyun-Joo; Song, Young-Hwan; Oh, Jung-Hyun; Heo, Sung-Bo; Kim, Daeil

2016-01-01

In- and Ga-doped ZnO (IGZO) films were deposited on 5 nm thick Cu film buffered poly-carbonate substrates with RF magnetron sputtering and the effects of the Cu buffer layer on the optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. The IGZO single layer films exhibited an electrical resistivity of 1.2×10"-1 Ω cm while the IGZO/Cu bi-layered films exhibited a lower resistivity of 1.6×10"-3 Ω cm. With respect to optical properties, the optical band gap of the IGZO films appeared to decrease as a result of an increasing carrier concentration due to the Cu buffer layer. In addition, the RMS roughness (8.2 nm) of the IGZO films also decreased to 6.8 nm by a Cu buffer layer in AFM observation. Although the optical transmittance in the range of visible wavelengths was deteriorated by the Cu buffer layer, the IGZO films with a 5 nm thick Cu buffer layer exhibited a higher figure of merit of 2.6×10"-4 Ω"-1 compared with the IGZO single layer films due to enhanced optoelectrical performance.

Transparent Conductive In and Ga Doped ZnO/Cu Bi-Layered Films Deposited by DC and RF Magnetron Sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moon, Hyun-Joo; Song, Young-Hwan; Oh, Jung-Hyun; Heo, Sung-Bo; Kim, Daeil [University of Ulsan, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2016-06-15

In- and Ga-doped ZnO (IGZO) films were deposited on 5 nm thick Cu film buffered poly-carbonate substrates with RF magnetron sputtering and the effects of the Cu buffer layer on the optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. The IGZO single layer films exhibited an electrical resistivity of 1.2×10{sup -}1 Ω cm while the IGZO/Cu bi-layered films exhibited a lower resistivity of 1.6×10{sup -}3 Ω cm. With respect to optical properties, the optical band gap of the IGZO films appeared to decrease as a result of an increasing carrier concentration due to the Cu buffer layer. In addition, the RMS roughness (8.2 nm) of the IGZO films also decreased to 6.8 nm by a Cu buffer layer in AFM observation. Although the optical transmittance in the range of visible wavelengths was deteriorated by the Cu buffer layer, the IGZO films with a 5 nm thick Cu buffer layer exhibited a higher figure of merit of 2.6×10{sup -}4 Ω{sup -}1 compared with the IGZO single layer films due to enhanced optoelectrical performance.

On-chip plasmon-induced transparency based on plasmonic coupled nanocavities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Yu; Hu, Xiaoyong; Yang, Hong; Gong, Qihuang

2014-01-17

On-chip plasmon-induced transparency offers the possibility of realization of ultrahigh-speed information processing chips. Unfortunately, little experimental progress has been made to date because it is difficult to obtain on-chip plasmon-induced transparency using only a single meta-molecule in plasmonic circuits. Here, we report a simple and efficient strategy to realize on-chip plasmon-induced transparency in a nanoscale U-shaped plasmonic waveguide side-coupled nanocavity pair. High tunability in the transparency window is achieved by covering the pair with different organic polymer layers. It is possible to realize ultrafast all-optical tunability based on pump light-induced refractive index change of a graphene cover layer. Compared with previous reports, the overall feature size of the plasmonic nanostructure is reduced by more than three orders of magnitude, while ultrahigh tunability of the transparency window is maintained. This work also provides a superior platform for the study of the various physical effects and phenomena of nonlinear optics and quantum optics.

Electrical and optical properties of Zn–In–Sn–O transparent conducting thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carreras, Paz; Antony, Aldrin; Rojas, Fredy; Bertomeu, Joan

2011-01-01

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is one of the widely used transparent conductive oxides (TCO) for application as transparent electrode in thin film silicon solar cells or thin film transistors owing to its low resistivity and high transparency. Nevertheless, indium is a scarce and expensive element and ITO films require high deposition temperature to achieve good electrical and optical properties. On the other hand, although not competing as ITO, doped Zinc Oxide (ZnO) is a promising and cheaper alternative. Therefore, our strategy has been to deposit ITO and ZnO multicomponent thin films at room temperature by radiofrequency (RF) magnetron co-sputtering in order to achieve TCOs with reduced indium content. Thin films of the quaternary system Zn–In–Sn–O (ZITO) with improved electrical and optical properties have been achieved. The samples were deposited by applying different RF powers to ZnO target while keeping a constant RF power to ITO target. This led to ZITO films with zinc content ratio varying between 0 and 67%. The optical, electrical and morphological properties have been thoroughly studied. The film composition was analysed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The films with 17% zinc content ratio showed the lowest resistivity (6.6 × 10 −4 Ω cm) and the highest transmittance (above 80% in the visible range). Though X-ray Diffraction studies showed amorphous nature for the films, using High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy we found that the microstructure of the films consisted of nanometric crystals embedded in a compact amorphous matrix. The effect of post deposition annealing on the films in both reducing and oxidizing atmospheres were studied. The changes were found to strongly depend on the zinc content ratio in the films.

Polyurethanes for potential use in transparent armour investigated using DSC and DMA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ekeren, P.J. van; Carton, E.P.

2011-01-01

A material combination that may be applied as transparent armour is glass-clad polyurethane. These are comprised of a relatively thin glass strike face and a relatively thick (transparent) polyurethane backing layer. Three transparent polyurethane samples were investigated using differential

Conducting tin halides with a layered organic-based perovskite structure

Science.gov (United States)

Mitzi, D. B.; Feild, C. A.; Harrison, W. T. A.; Guloy, A. M.

1994-06-01

THE discovery1 of high-temperature superconductivity in layered copper oxide perovskites has generated considerable fundamental and technological interest in this class of materials. Only a few other examples of conducting layered perovskites are known; these are also oxides such as (La1-xSrx)n+1 MnnO3n+1 (ref. 2), Lan+1NinO3n+1 (ref. 3) and Ban+1PbnO3n+1 (ref. 4), all of which exhibit a trend from semiconducting to metallic behaviour with increasing number of perovskite layers (n). We report here the synthesis of a family of organic-based layered halide perovskites, (C4H9NH3)2(CH3NH3)n-1Snnl3n+1 which show a similar transition from semiconducting to metallic behaviour with increasing n. The incorporation of an organic modulation layer between the conducting tin iodide sheets potentially provides greater flexibility for tuning the electrical properties of the perovskite sheets, and we suggest that such an approach will prove valuable for exploring the range of transport properties possible with layered perovskites.

Pulsed laser deposition of transparent conductive oxide thin films on flexible substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Socol, G.; Socol, M.; Stefan, N.; Axente, E.; Popescu-Pelin, G.; Craciun, D.; Duta, L.; Mihailescu, C. N.; Mihailescu, I. N.; Stanculescu, A.; Visan, D.; Sava, V.; Galca, A. C.; Luculescu, C. R.; Craciun, V.

2012-11-01

The influence of target-substrate distance during pulsed laser deposition of indium zinc oxide (IZO), indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films grown on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates was investigated. It was found that the properties of such flexible transparent conductive oxide (TCO)/PET electrodes critically depend on this parameter. The TCO films that were deposited at distances of 6 and 8 cm exhibited an optical transmittance higher than 90% in the visible range and electrical resistivities around 5 × 10-4 Ω cm. In addition to these excellent electrical and optical characteristics the films grown at 8 cm distance were homogenous, smooth, adherent, and without cracks or any other extended defects, being suitable for opto-electronic device applications.

Atomic-Layer-Deposited SnO2 as Gate Electrode for Indium-Free Transparent Electronics

KAUST Repository

Alshammari, Fwzah Hamud

2017-08-04

Atomic-layer-deposited SnO2 is used as a gate electrode to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in thin-film transistors and circuits for the first time. The SnO2 films deposited at 200 °C show low electrical resistivity of ≈3.1 × 10−3 Ω cm with ≈93% transparency in most of the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thin-film transistors fabricated with SnO2 gates show excellent transistor properties including saturation mobility of 15.3 cm2 V−1 s−1, a low subthreshold swing of ≈130 mV dec−1, a high on/off ratio of ≈109, and an excellent electrical stability under constant-voltage stressing conditions to the gate terminal. Moreover, the SnO2-gated thin-film transistors show excellent electrical characteristics when used in electronic circuits such as negative channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) inverters and ring oscillators. The NMOS inverters exhibit a low propagation stage delay of ≈150 ns with high DC voltage gain of ≈382. A high oscillation frequency of ≈303 kHz is obtained from the output sinusoidal signal of the 11-stage NMOS inverter-based ring oscillators. These results show that SnO2 can effectively replace ITO in transparent electronics and sensor applications.

Transparent ambipolar organic thin film transistors based on multilayer transparent source-drain electrodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Nan; Hu, Yongsheng, E-mail: huyongsheng@ciomp.ac.cn, E-mail: liuxy@ciomp.ac.cn; Lin, Jie; Li, Yantao; Liu, Xingyuan, E-mail: huyongsheng@ciomp.ac.cn, E-mail: liuxy@ciomp.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Applications, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130033 (China)

2016-08-08

A fabrication method for transparent ambipolar organic thin film transistors with transparent Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Ag/Sb{sub 2}O{sub 3} (SAS) source and drain electrodes has been developed. A pentacene/N,N′-ditridecylperylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic di-imide (PTCDI-C13) bilayer heterojunction is used as the active semiconductor. The electrodes are deposited by room temperature electron beam evaporation. The devices are fabricated without damaging the active layers. The SAS electrodes have high transmittance (82.5%) and low sheet resistance (8 Ω/sq). High performance devices with hole and electron mobilities of 0.3 cm{sup 2}/V s and 0.027 cm{sup 2}/V s, respectively, and average visible range transmittance of 72% were obtained. These transistors have potential for transparent logic integrated circuit applications.

A conductive surface coating for Si-CNT radiation detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valentini, Antonio, E-mail: antonio.valentini@ba.infn.it [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari (Italy); Valentini, Marco [INFN, Sezione di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari (Italy); Ditaranto, Nicoletta [Dipartimento di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari, Via Amendola 173, 70126 Bari (Italy); Melisi, Domenico [INFN, Sezione di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari (Italy); Aramo, Carla, E-mail: aramo@na.infn.it [INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Ambrosio, Antonio [CNR-SPIN U.O.S. di Napoli and Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Casamassima, Giuseppe [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70126 Bari (Italy); Cilmo, Marco [INFN, Sezione di Napoli, and Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Via Cintia 2, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Fiandrini, Emanuele [INFN, Sezione di Perugia, and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Piazza Università 1, 06100 Perugia (Italy); Grossi, Valentina [INFN, Sezione di L’Aquila, and Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche e Chimiche, Università degli Studi dell’Aquila, Via Vetoio 10 Coppito, 67100 L’Aquila (Italy); and others

2015-08-01

Silicon–Carbon Nanotube radiation detectors need an electrically conductive coating layer to avoid the nanotube detachment from the silicon substrate and uniformly transmit the electric field to the entire nanotube active surface. Coating material must be transparent to the radiation of interest, and must provide the drain voltage necessary to collect charges generated by incident photons. For this purpose various materials have been tested and proposed in photodetector and photoconverter applications. In this article interface properties and electrical contact behavior of Indium Tin Oxide films on Carbon Nanotubes have been analyzed. Ion Beam Sputtering has been used to grow the transparent conductive layer on the nanotubes. The films were deposited at room temperature with Oxygen/Argon mixture into the sputtering beam, at fixed current and for different beam energies. Optical and electrical analyses have been performed on films. Surface chemical analysis and in depth profiling results obtained by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy of the Indium Tin Oxide layer on nanotubes have been used to obtain the interface composition. Results have been applied in photodetectors realization based on multi wall Carbon Nanotubes on silicon. - Highlights: • ITO was deposited by Ion Beam Sputtering on MWCNT. • ITO on CNT makes an inter-diffusion layer of the order of one hundred nanometers. • Improvements of quantum efficiency of photon detectors based on CNT with ITO.

Rapid thermal processing of nano-crystalline indium tin oxide transparent conductive oxide coatings on glass by flame impingement technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoemaker, S.; Willert-Porada, M.

2009-01-01

Indium tin oxide (ITO) is still the best suited material for transparent conductive oxides, when high transmission in the visible range, high infrared reflection or high electrical conductivity is needed. Current approaches on powder-based printable ITO coatings aim at minimum consumption of active coating and low processing costs. The paper describes how fast firing by flame impingement is used for effective sintering of ITO-coatings applied on glass. The present study correlates process parameters of fast firing by flame impingement with optoelectronic properties and changes in the microstructure of suspension derived nano-particulate films. With optimum process parameters the heat treated coatings had a sheet resistance below 0.5 kΩ/ □ combined with a transparency higher than 80%. To characterize the influence of the burner type on the process parameters and the coating functionality, two types of methane/oxygen burner were compared: a diffusion burner and a premixed burner

Improved Flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes based on Silver Nanowire Networks by a Simple Sunlight Illumination Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Kou, Pengfei; Yang, Liu; Chang, Cheng; He, Sailing

2017-01-01

Silver nanowire (Ag NW) networks have attracted wide attention as transparent electrodes for emerging flexible optoelectronics. However, the sheet resistance is greatly limited by large wire-to-wire contact resistances. Here, we propose a simple sunlight illumination approach to remarkably improve their electrical conductivity without any significant degradation of the light transmittance. Because the power density is extremely low (0.1 W/cm2, 1-Sun), only slight welding between Ag NWs has been observed. Despite this, a sheet resistance of solar concentrations. Due to the reduced resistance, high-performance transparent film heaters as well as efficient defrosters have been demonstrated, which are superior to the previously-reported Ag NW based film heaters. Since the sunlight is environmentally friendly and easily available, sophisticated or expensive facilities are not necessary. Our findings are particularly meaningful and show enormous potential for outdoor applications. PMID:28169343

Conductive and robust nitride buffer layers on biaxially textured substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Sankar, Sambasivan [Chicago, IL; Goyal, Amit [Knoxville, TN; Barnett, Scott A [Evanston, IL; Kim, Ilwon [Skokie, IL; Kroeger, Donald M [Knoxville, TN

2009-03-31

The present invention relates to epitaxial, electrically conducting and mechanically robust, cubic nitride buffer layers deposited epitaxially on biaxially textured substrates such as metals and alloys. The invention comprises of a biaxially textured substrate with epitaxial layers of nitrides. The invention also discloses a method to form such epitaxial layers using a high rate deposition method as well as without the use of forming gases. The invention further comprises epitaxial layers of oxides on the biaxially textured nitride layer. In some embodiments the article further comprises electromagnetic devices which may have superconducting properties.

ZnO as dielectric for optically transparent non-volatile memory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salim, N. Tjitra; Aw, K.C.; Gao, W.; Wright, Bryon E.

2009-01-01

This paper discusses the application of a DC sputtered ZnO thin film as a dielectric in an optically transparent non-volatile memory. The main motivation for using ZnO as a dielectric is due to its optical transparency and mechanical flexibility. We have established the relationship between the electrical resistivity (ρ) and the activation energy (E a ) of the electron transport in the conduction band of the ZnO film. The ρ of 2 x 10 4 -5 x 10 7 Ω-cm corresponds to E a of 0.36-0.76 eV, respectively. The k-value and optical band-gap for films sputtered with Ar:O 2 ratio of 4:1 are 53 ± 3.6 and 3.23 eV, respectively. In this paper, the basic charge storage element for a non-volatile memory is a triple layer dielectric structure in which a 50 nm thick ZnO film is sandwiched between two layers of methyl silsesquioxane sol-gel dielectric of varying thickness. A pronounced clockwise capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis was observed with a memory window of 6 V. The integration with a solution-processable pentacene, 13,6-N-Sulfinylacetamodipentacene resulted in an optically transparent organic field effect transistor non-volatile memory (OFET-NVM). We have demonstrated that this OFET-NVM can be electrically programmed and erased at low voltage (± 10 V) with a threshold voltage shift of 4.0 V.

Thermal conductivity of plasma modified polyethylene terephthalate and polyamide-6 layers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Kalacska

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Tribological performance of the materials greatly depends on the temperature of the contacting zones and surfaces and hence on the heat conducting behaviour of the materials. Heat conduction of polymers is, however, greatly affected even by a very narrow (few tens of nm modified layer formed on the surface after subjecting the polymer to plasma treatment. In this article the heat flow inhibiting properties of plasma modified surface layers were investigated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET and polyamide-6 (PA6 engineering polymers. Nitrogen Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation gave rise to compositional and structural changes of the polymers in a depth of 110 nm. It was found that even this thin layer exhibited significant heat flow inhibiting effect. The modified layer considerably decreased the thermal conductivity coefficient of the treated polymer and resulted in a reduced heat transmission for PET and PA6 by 33 and 28%, respectively. This new information supports and is in accordance with the former tribological results about extra friction heat generation experienced under NPIII surface layer of PA6 and PET during dry sliding.

Carbon nanotubes length optimization for preparation of improved transparent and conducting thin film substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mansoor Farbod

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Transparent and conductive thin films of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs with different lengths were prepared on glass substrates by the spin coating method. In order to reduce the MWCNTs length, they were functionalized. The initial length of MWCNTs (10–15 μm was reduced to 1200, 205 and 168 nm after 30, 60 and 120 min refluxing time, respectively. After post annealing at 285 °C for 24 h, the electrical and optical properties were greatly improved for functionalized MWCNT thin films. They strongly depend on the length of CNTs. The optical transmittance of the film prepared using 30 min reflux CNTs was 2.6% and 6.6% higher than that of the 60 min and 120 min refluxed samples respectively. The sheet resistance of this film showed reductions of 45% and 80% as well. The film also exhibited the least roughness. The percolative figure of merit, which is proportional to the transparency and disproportional to the sheet resistance, was found to be higher for the sample with 30 min refluxed MWCNTs.

Controlled Al3+ Incorporation in the ZnO Lattice at 188 °C by Soft Reactive Co-Sputtering for Transparent Conductive Oxides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salvatore Sanzaro

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Transparent conductive oxide (TCO layers, to be implemented in photo-anodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs, were prepared by co-deposition of ZnO and Al using pulsed-direct current (DC-magnetron reactive sputtering processes. The films were deposited at low deposition temperatures (RT-188 °C and at fixed working pressure (1.4 Pa using soft power loading conditions to avoid intrinsic extra-heating. To compensate the layer stoichiometry, O2 was selectively injected close to the sample in a small percentage (Ar:O2 = 69 sccm:2 sccm. We expressly applied the deposition temperature as a controlling parameter to tune the incorporation of the Al3+ species in the targeted position inside the ZnO lattice. With this method, Aluminum-doped Zinc Oxide films (ZnO:Al were grown following the typical wurtzite structure, as demonstrated by X-ray Diffraction analyses. A combination of micro-Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE analyses has shown that the incorporated host-atoms are Al3+ species in Zn2+ substitutional position; their amount increases following a direct monotonic trend with the deposition temperature. Correspondently, the c-axis strain into the layer decreases due to the progressive ordering of the lattice structure and reducing clustering phenomena. The maximum average Al content inside the film was ~2%, as measured by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX spectroscopy, with a uniform distribution of the dopant species along the layer thickness traced by depth-profile XPS analyses. The optimised ZnO:Al layer, deposited at a rate of ~7 nm/min, exhibits high transmittance in the visible range (~85% and low resistivity values (~13 mΩ × cm. The material therefore fulfils all the requirements to be candidate as TCO for low-cost DSCs on flexible substrates for large area technologies.

Transparent Electrodes with Nanotubes and Graphene for Printed Optoelectronic Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcin Słoma

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We report here on printed electroluminescent structures containing transparent electrodes made of carbon nanotubes and graphene nanoplatelets. Screen-printing and spray-coating techniques were employed. Electrodes and structures were examined towards optical parameters using spectrophotometer and irradiation meter. Electromechanical properties of transparent electrodes are exterminated with cyclical bending test. Accelerated aging process was conducted according to EN 62137 standard for reliability tests of electronics. We observed significant negative influence of mechanical bending on sheet resistivity of ITO, while resistivity of nanotube and graphene based electrodes remained stable. Aging process has also negative influence on ITO based structures resulting in delamination of printed layers, while those based on carbon nanomaterials remained intact. We observe negligible changes in irradiation for structures with carbon nanotube electrodes after accelerated aging process. Such materials demonstrate a high application potential in general purpose electroluminescent devices.

Importance of layer thermal conductivity on the sharpness of patterns produced by laser interference

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Peláez, R.J., E-mail: rpelaez@io.cfmac.csic.es [Laser Processing Group, Instituto de Optica, CSIC, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Afonso, C.N. [Laser Processing Group, Instituto de Optica, CSIC, Serrano 121, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Škereň, M. [Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brehova 7, 115 19 Prague 1 (Czech Republic); Bulíř, J. [Institute of Physics, ASCR, v.v.i., Na Slovance 2, Prague (Czech Republic)

2016-06-30

Highlights: • Temperature profile matches laser intensity profile in poor thermally conducting layers. • Patterns produced in poor thermally conducting layers have sharp interfaces. • Lateral heat flow smears the temperature profile in thermally conducting layers. • Both liquid and solid state dewetting occurs upon patterning thermally conducting layers. • The thermal conductivity of layers limits the minimum period achievable. - Abstract: In this work, we compare patterns produced in Ag layers having similar thickness in the range 8.3–10.8 nm but having different initial nanostructure, i.e. behaving either as discontinuous or continuous layers and thus having very different thermal conductivities. The patterns are produced by exposing a phase mask to an excimer laser operating at 193 nm and using a projection optics that leads to similar fringed patterns with periods in the range 6.3–6.7 μm. The layer breaks up into isolated NPs due to laser induced melting at the regions around the intensity maxima sites. The resulting fringes have sharp interfaces in the case of discontinuous layers while a variety of regions across the pattern with no sharp interfaces are produced in the case of continuous layers. The results show that while the temperature distribution across the pattern matches almost perfectly the laser beam intensity profile for the former case, it becomes smeared due to lateral heat flow for the latter case. These results provide evidences for significant heating at the intensity minima sites that lead to solid-state dewetting and will eventually limit the minimum period achievable in the case of continuous metal layers or thermally conducting layers.

Synthesis and Characterization of Graphene/ITO Nanoparticle Hybrid Transparent Conducting Electrode

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jae-Kwan Kim; Ji-Myon Lee

2018-01-01

The combination of graphene with conductive nanoparticles, forming graphene–nanoparticle hybrid materials, offers a number of excellent properties for advanced engineering applications. A novel and simple method was developed to deposit 10 wt% tin-doped indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles on graphene. The method involved a combination of a solution-based environmen-tally friendly electroless deposition approach and subse-quent vacuum annealing.A stable organic-free solution of ITO was prepared from economical salts of In(NO3)3?H2O and SnCl4. The obtained ITO nanostructure exhibited a unique architecture, with uniformly dispersed 25–35 nm size ITO nanoparticles, containing only the crystallized In2O3phase.The synthesized ITO nanoparticles–graphene hybrid exhibited very good and reproducible optical transparency in the visible range (more than 85%) and a 28.2% improvement in electrical conductivity relative to graphene synthesized by chemical vapor deposition.It was observed that the ITO nanoparticles affect the position of the Raman signal of graphene,in which the D,G,and 2D peaks were redshifted by 5.65, 5.69, and 9.74 cm-1,respectively, and the annealing conditions had no signifi-cant effect on the Raman signatures of graphene.

Synthesis and Characterization of Graphene/ITO Nanoparticle Hybrid Transparent Conducting Electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Hemasiri, Bastian Waduge Naveen Harindu; Kim, Jae-Kwan; Lee, Ji-Myon

2018-03-01

The combination of graphene with conductive nanoparticles, forming graphene-nanoparticle hybrid materials, offers a number of excellent properties for advanced engineering applications. A novel and simple method was developed to deposit 10 wt% tin-doped indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles on graphene. The method involved a combination of a solution-based environmentally friendly electroless deposition approach and subsequent vacuum annealing. A stable organic-free solution of ITO was prepared from economical salts of In(NO3) 3 · H2O and SnCl4. The obtained ITO nanostructure exhibited a unique architecture, with uniformly dispersed 25-35 nm size ITO nanoparticles, containing only the crystallized In2O3 phase. The synthesized ITO nanoparticles-graphene hybrid exhibited very good and reproducible optical transparency in the visible range (more than 85%) and a 28.2% improvement in electrical conductivity relative to graphene synthesized by chemical vapor deposition. It was observed that the ITO nanoparticles affect the position of the Raman signal of graphene, in which the D, G, and 2D peaks were redshifted by 5.65, 5.69, and 9.74 cm-1, respectively, and the annealing conditions had no significant effect on the Raman signatures of graphene. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Phosphonic Acids for Interfacial Engineering of Transparent Conductive Oxides

KAUST Repository

Paniagua, Sergio A.; Giordano, Anthony J.; Smith, O’ Neil L.; Barlow, Stephen; Li, Hong; Armstrong, Neal R.; Pemberton, Jeanne E.; Bredas, Jean-Luc; Ginger, David; Marder, Seth R.

2016-01-01

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), such as indium tin oxide and zinc oxide, play an important role as electrode materials in organic-semiconductor devices. The properties of the inorganic-organic interface - the offset between the TCO Fermi level and the relevant transport level, the extent to which the organic semiconductor can wet the oxide surface, and the influence of the surface on semiconductor morphology - significantly affect device performance. This review surveys the literature on TCO modification with phosphonic acids (PAs), which has increasingly been used to engineer these interfacial properties. The first part outlines the relevance of TCO surface modification to organic electronics, surveys methods for the synthesis of PAs, discusses the modes by which they can bind to TCO surfaces, and compares PAs to alternative organic surface modifiers. The next section discusses methods of PA monolayer deposition, the kinetics of monolayer formation, and structural evidence regarding molecular orientation on TCOs. The next sections discuss TCO work-function modification using PAs, tuning of TCO surface energy using PAs, and initiation of polymerizations from TCO-tethered PAs. Finally, studies that examine the use of PA-modified TCOs in organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics are compared. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

Phosphonic Acids for Interfacial Engineering of Transparent Conductive Oxides

KAUST Repository

Paniagua, Sergio A.

2016-05-26

Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs), such as indium tin oxide and zinc oxide, play an important role as electrode materials in organic-semiconductor devices. The properties of the inorganic-organic interface - the offset between the TCO Fermi level and the relevant transport level, the extent to which the organic semiconductor can wet the oxide surface, and the influence of the surface on semiconductor morphology - significantly affect device performance. This review surveys the literature on TCO modification with phosphonic acids (PAs), which has increasingly been used to engineer these interfacial properties. The first part outlines the relevance of TCO surface modification to organic electronics, surveys methods for the synthesis of PAs, discusses the modes by which they can bind to TCO surfaces, and compares PAs to alternative organic surface modifiers. The next section discusses methods of PA monolayer deposition, the kinetics of monolayer formation, and structural evidence regarding molecular orientation on TCOs. The next sections discuss TCO work-function modification using PAs, tuning of TCO surface energy using PAs, and initiation of polymerizations from TCO-tethered PAs. Finally, studies that examine the use of PA-modified TCOs in organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics are compared. © 2016 American Chemical Society.

Rapid fabrication of transparent conductive films with controllable sheet resistance on glass substrates by laser annealing of diamond-like carbon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Keunhee; Ki, Hyungson

2016-01-01

We report a laser-based method for directly fabricating large-area, transparent conductive films with customizable electrical resistance on glass. In this method, a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film is deposited first on a glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition, which is then annealed in a helium shielding environment by a 2 kW continuous-wave fiber laser with a wavelength of 1070 nm, which is transparent to glass but is absorbed by DLC to transform the amorphous carbons to graphene. When a 510 nm thick film was annealed at a scanning speed of 1 m/s by a 200 μm top-hat laser beam, the sp 3 fraction was decreased from 43.1% to 8.1% after the annealing process, and the transformed film showed a transparency of ∼80% (at 550 nm) and a sheet resistance of ∼2050 Ω/sq. We also showed that sheet resistance and transparency can be controlled by changing processing parameters. To show the scalability of the method, a 15 mm wide line beam was used to produce a 15 mm × 15 mm film. This method is simple, fully scalable, transfer-free and catalyst-free, and we believe that the fabricated films can have many applications with further research, such as transparent heating films, electromagnetic shielding films, and transparent electrodes.

Variational multi-valued velocity field estimation for transparent sequences

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramírez-Manzanares, Alonso; Rivera, Mariano; Kornprobst, Pierre

2011-01-01

Motion estimation in sequences with transparencies is an important problem in robotics and medical imaging applications. In this work we propose a variational approach for estimating multi-valued velocity fields in transparent sequences. Starting from existing local motion estimators, we derive...... a variational model for integrating in space and time such a local information in order to obtain a robust estimation of the multi-valued velocity field. With this approach, we can indeed estimate multi-valued velocity fields which are not necessarily piecewise constant on a layer –each layer can evolve...

Thermal conductivities of single- and multi-layer phosphorene: a molecular dynamics study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ying-Yan; Pei, Qing-Xiang; Jiang, Jin-Wu; Wei, Ning; Zhang, Yong-Wei

2016-01-07

As a new two-dimensional (2D) material, phosphorene has drawn growing attention owing to its novel electronic properties, such as layer-dependent direct bandgaps and high carrier mobility. Herein we investigate the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities of single- and multi-layer phosphorene, focusing on geometrical (sample size, orientation and layer number) and strain (compression and tension) effects. A strong anisotropy is found in the in-plane thermal conductivity with its value along the zigzag direction being much higher than that along the armchair direction. Interestingly, the in-plane thermal conductivity of multi-layer phosphorene is insensitive to the layer number, which is in strong contrast to that of graphene where the interlayer interactions strongly influence the thermal transport. Surprisingly, tensile strain leads to an anomalous increase in the in-plane thermal conductivity of phosphorene, in particular in the armchair direction. Both the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivities can be modulated by external strain; however, the strain modulation along the cross-plane direction is more effective and thus more tunable than that along the in-plane direction. Our findings here are of great importance for the thermal management in phosphorene-based nanoelectronic devices and for thermoelectric applications of phosphorene.

Time-resolved electron thermal conduction by probing of plasma formation in transparent solids with high power subpicosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vu, B.T.V.

1994-02-01

This dissertation work includes a series of experimental measurements in a search for better understanding of high temperature (10 4 -10 6 K) and high density plasmas (10 22 -10 24 cm -3 ) produced by irradiating a transparent solid target with high intensity (10 13 - 10 15 W/cm 2 ) and subpicosecond (10 -12 -10 -13 s) laser pulses. Experimentally, pump and probe schemes with both frontside (vacuum-plasma side) and backside (plasma-bulk material side) probes are used to excite and interrogate or probe the plasma evolution, thereby providing useful insights into the plasma formation mechanisms. A series of different experiments has been carried out so as to characterize plasma parameters and the importance of various nonlinear processes. Experimental evidence shows that electron thermal conduction is supersonic in a time scale of the first picosecond after laser irradiation, so fast that it was often left unresolved in the past. The experimental results from frontside probing demonstrate that upon irradiation with a strong (pump) laser pulse, a thin high temperature (∼40eV) super-critical density (∼10 23 /cm 3 ) plasma layer is quickly formed at the target surface which in turn becomes strongly reflective and prevents further transmission of the remainder of the laser pulse. In the bulk region behind the surface, it is also found that a large sub-critical (∼10 18 /cm 3 ) plasma is produced by inverse Bremsstrahlung absorption and collisional ionization. The bulk underdense plasma is evidenced by large absorption of the backside probe light. A simple and analytical model, modified from the avalanche model, for plasma evolution in transparent materials is proposed to explain the experimental results. Elimination of the bulk plasma is then experimentally illustrated by using targets overcoated with highly absorptive films

Layer-by-layer assembly of thin film oxygen barrier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Woo-Sik; Rawson, Ian; Grunlan, Jaime C.

2008-01-01

Thin films of sodium montmorillonite clay and cationic polyacrylamide were grown on a polyethylene terephthalate film using layer-by-layer assembly. After 30 clay-polymer layers are deposited, with a thickness of 571 nm, the resulting transparent film has an oxygen transmission rate (OTR) below the detection limit of commercial instrumentation ( 2 /day/atm). This low OTR, which is unprecedented for a clay-filled polymer composite, is believed to be due to a brick wall nanostructure comprised of completely exfoliated clay in polymeric mortar. With an optical transparency greater than 90% and potential for microwaveability, this thin composite is a good candidate for foil replacement in food packaging and may also be useful for flexible electronics packaging

Pseudocapacitive Transparent/Flexible Supercapacitor based on Graphene wrapped Ni(OH)2 Nanosheet Transparent Film Produced using Scalable Bio-inspired Methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Na; Huang, Xuankai; Li, Ruijian; Chen, Yiming; Li, Yunyong; Shi, Zhicong; Zhang, Haiyan

2016-01-01

High specific-capacity pseudocapacitive transition-metal-hydroxide (TMH) materials are desirable for future high performance transparent supercapacitors, but have been rarely reported previously. The successful synthesis of TMH materials with desired nanostructures is a key factor for their transparency. Here, Ni(OH) 2 nanosheet transparent film (NNS-TF) was developed simply through a gas-liquid diffusion method. The nanostructures were enwrapped in graphene shells (NNS@Gr-TF) for using as transparent electrodes. The unique encapsulation structures build up rapid three-dimensional electron and ion transport pathways together with the underlying ITO layer. The specific areal capacitance (18.9 mF/cm 2 at 0.1 mA/cm 2 ) was greatly improved, at least a thousand times higher than the reported value for transparent devices based on planer CVD graphene, and ten times as that for 3D micro-structured graphene membrane.

Change of the work function and potential barrier transparency of W(100) and GaAs(110) single crystals during removing the inherent surface oxide layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asalkhanov, Yu.I.; Saneev, Eh.L.

2002-01-01

Changes of current voltage characteristics of slow monoenergetic electron beam through the surfaces of W(100) and GaAs(100) single crystals have been measured in the process of surface oxide layers elimination. It is shown that work function is decreased and transparency coefficient of surface potential barrier is increased under increasing the temperature of vacuum annealing. Peculiarities of surface potential change under oxide layer elimination in metals and semiconductors are discussed [ru

Optoelectronic properties of transparent p-type semiconductor Cu{sub x}S thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parreira, P.; Valente, J. [ICEMS, IST-UTL, Lisboa (Portugal); Lavareda, G. [Departamento de Fisica, IST-UTL, Lisboa (Portugal); Nunes, F.T. [Departamento de Ciencia dos Materiais, FCT-UNL, Caparica (Portugal); Amaral, A. [Departamento de Fisica, IST-UTL, Lisboa (Portugal); ICEMS, IST-UTL, Lisboa (Portugal); Carvalho, C.N. de [Departamento de Ciencia dos Materiais, FCT-UNL, Caparica (Portugal); ICEMS, IST-UTL, Lisboa (Portugal)

2010-07-15

Nowadays, among the available transparent semiconductors for device use, the great majority (if not all) have n-type conductivity. The fabrication of a transparent p-type semiconductor with good optoelectronic properties (comparable to those of n-type: InO{sub x}, ITO, ZnO{sub x} or FTO) would significantly broaden the application field of thin films. However, until now no material has yet presented all the required properties. Cu{sub 2}S is a p-type narrow-band-gap material with an average optical transmittance of about 60% in the visible range for 50 nm thick films. However, due to its high conductivity at room temperature, 10 nm in thickness seems to be appropriate for device use. Cu{sub 2}S thin films with 10 nm in thickness have an optical visible transmittance of about 85% rendering them as very good candidates for transparent p-type semiconductors. In this work Cu{sub x}S thin films were deposited on alkali-free (AF) glass by thermal evaporation. The objective was not only the determination of its optoelectronic properties but also the feasibility of an active layer in a p-type thin film transistor. In our Cu{sub x}S thin films, p-type high conductivity with a total visible transmittance of about 50% have been achieved. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Transparent field-effect transistors based on AlN-gate dielectric and IGZO-channel semiconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besleaga, C.; Stan, G.E.; Pintilie, I.; Barquinha, P.; Fortunato, E.; Martins, R.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • TFTs based on IGZO channel semiconductor and AlN gate dielectric were fabricated. • AlN films – a viable and cheap gate dielectric alternative for transparent TFTs. • Influence of gate dielectric layer thickness on TFTs electrical characteristics. • No degradation of AlN gate dielectric was observed during devices stress testing. - Abstract: The degradation of thin-film transistors (TFTs) caused by the self-heating effect constitutes a problem to be solved for the next generation of displays. Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a viable alternative for gate dielectric of TFTs due to its good thermal conductivity, matching coefficient of thermal expansion to indium–gallium–zinc-oxide, and excellent stability at high temperatures. Here, AlN thin films of different thicknesses were fabricated by a low temperature reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering process, using a low cost, metallic Al target. Their electrical properties have been thoroughly assessed. Furthermore, the 200 nm and 500 nm thick AlN layers have been integrated as gate-dielectric in transparent TFTs with indium–gallium–zinc-oxide as channel semiconductor. Our study emphasizes the potential of AlN thin films for transparent electronics, whilst the functionality of the fabricated field-effect transistors is explored and discussed.

Transparent field-effect transistors based on AlN-gate dielectric and IGZO-channel semiconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Besleaga, C.; Stan, G.E.; Pintilie, I. [National Institute of Materials Physics, 405A Atomistilor, 077125 Magurele-Ilfov (Romania); Barquinha, P.; Fortunato, E. [CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP-UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal); Martins, R., E-mail: rm@uninova.pt [CENIMAT/I3N, Departamento de Ciência dos Materiais, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and CEMOP-UNINOVA, 2829-516 Caparica (Portugal)

2016-08-30

Highlights: • TFTs based on IGZO channel semiconductor and AlN gate dielectric were fabricated. • AlN films – a viable and cheap gate dielectric alternative for transparent TFTs. • Influence of gate dielectric layer thickness on TFTs electrical characteristics. • No degradation of AlN gate dielectric was observed during devices stress testing. - Abstract: The degradation of thin-film transistors (TFTs) caused by the self-heating effect constitutes a problem to be solved for the next generation of displays. Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a viable alternative for gate dielectric of TFTs due to its good thermal conductivity, matching coefficient of thermal expansion to indium–gallium–zinc-oxide, and excellent stability at high temperatures. Here, AlN thin films of different thicknesses were fabricated by a low temperature reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering process, using a low cost, metallic Al target. Their electrical properties have been thoroughly assessed. Furthermore, the 200 nm and 500 nm thick AlN layers have been integrated as gate-dielectric in transparent TFTs with indium–gallium–zinc-oxide as channel semiconductor. Our study emphasizes the potential of AlN thin films for transparent electronics, whilst the functionality of the fabricated field-effect transistors is explored and discussed.

Transparent Electrodes for Efficient Optoelectronics

KAUST Repository

Morales-Masis, Monica

2017-03-30

With the development of new generations of optoelectronic devices that combine high performance and novel functionalities (e.g., flexibility/bendability, adaptability, semi or full transparency), several classes of transparent electrodes have been developed in recent years. These range from optimized transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), which are historically the most commonly used transparent electrodes, to new electrodes made from nano- and 2D materials (e.g., metal nanowire networks and graphene), and to hybrid electrodes that integrate TCOs or dielectrics with nanowires, metal grids, or ultrathin metal films. Here, the most relevant transparent electrodes developed to date are introduced, their fundamental properties are described, and their materials are classified according to specific application requirements in high efficiency solar cells and flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). This information serves as a guideline for selecting and developing appropriate transparent electrodes according to intended application requirements and functionality.

Transparent Electrodes for Efficient Optoelectronics

KAUST Repository

Morales-Masis, Monica; De Wolf, Stefaan; Woods-Robinson, Rachel; Ager, Joel W.; Ballif, Christophe

2017-01-01

With the development of new generations of optoelectronic devices that combine high performance and novel functionalities (e.g., flexibility/bendability, adaptability, semi or full transparency), several classes of transparent electrodes have been developed in recent years. These range from optimized transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), which are historically the most commonly used transparent electrodes, to new electrodes made from nano- and 2D materials (e.g., metal nanowire networks and graphene), and to hybrid electrodes that integrate TCOs or dielectrics with nanowires, metal grids, or ultrathin metal films. Here, the most relevant transparent electrodes developed to date are introduced, their fundamental properties are described, and their materials are classified according to specific application requirements in high efficiency solar cells and flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). This information serves as a guideline for selecting and developing appropriate transparent electrodes according to intended application requirements and functionality.

ITO-free flexible organic photovoltaics with multilayer MoO3/LiF/MoO3/Ag/MoO3 as the transparent electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Shilin; Dai, Yunjie; Zhang, Hongmei; Zhao, Dewei

2016-01-01

We present efficient flexible organic photovoltaics (OPVs) with multiple layers of molybdenum oxide (MoO 3 )/LiF/MoO 3 /Ag/MoO 3 as the transparent electrode, where the thin Ag layer yields high conductivity and the dielectric layer MoO 3 /LiF/MoO 3 has high transparency due to optical interference, leading to improved power conversion efficiency compared with indium tin oxide (ITO) based devices. The MoO 3 contacting organic active layer is used as a buffer layer for good hole extraction. Thus, the multilayer MoO 3 /LiF/MoO 3 /Ag/MoO 3 can improve light transmittance and also facilitate charge carrier extraction. Such an electrode shows excellent mechanical bendability with a 9% reduction of efficiency after 1000 cycles of bending due to the ductile nature of the thin metal layer and dielectric layer used. Our results suggest that the MoO 3 /LiF/MoO 3 /Ag/MoO 3 multilayer electrode is a promising alternative to ITO as an electrode in OPVs. (paper)

Structural and interfacial defects in c-axis oriented LiNbO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition on Si using Al : ZnO conducting layer

Science.gov (United States)

Shandilya, Swati; Tomar, Monika; Sreenivas, K.; Gupta, Vinay

2009-05-01

Highly c-axis oriented LiNbO3 films are deposited using pulsed laser deposition on a silicon substrate using a transparent conducting Al doped ZnO layer. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic analysis show the fabrication of single phase and oriented LiNbO3 films under the optimized deposition condition. An extra peak at 905 cm-1 was observed in the Raman spectra of LiNbO3 film deposited at higher substrate temperature and higher oxygen pressure, and attributed to the presence of niobium antisite defects in the lattice. Dielectric constant and ac conductivity of oriented LiNbO3 films deposited under the static and rotating substrate modes have been studied. Films deposited under the rotating substrate mode exhibit dielectric properties close to the LiNbO3 single crystal. The cause of deviation in the dielectric properties of the film deposited under the static substrate mode, in comparison with the bulk, are discussed in the light of the possible formation of an interdiffusion layer at the interface of the LiNbO3 film and the Al : ZnO layer.

Structural and interfacial defects in c-axis oriented LiNbO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition on Si using Al : ZnO conducting layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shandilya, Swati; Sreenivas, K; Gupta, Vinay; Tomar, Monika

2009-01-01

Highly c-axis oriented LiNbO 3 films are deposited using pulsed laser deposition on a silicon substrate using a transparent conducting Al doped ZnO layer. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic analysis show the fabrication of single phase and oriented LiNbO 3 films under the optimized deposition condition. An extra peak at 905 cm -1 was observed in the Raman spectra of LiNbO 3 film deposited at higher substrate temperature and higher oxygen pressure, and attributed to the presence of niobium antisite defects in the lattice. Dielectric constant and ac conductivity of oriented LiNbO 3 films deposited under the static and rotating substrate modes have been studied. Films deposited under the rotating substrate mode exhibit dielectric properties close to the LiNbO 3 single crystal. The cause of deviation in the dielectric properties of the film deposited under the static substrate mode, in comparison with the bulk, are discussed in the light of the possible formation of an interdiffusion layer at the interface of the LiNbO 3 film and the Al : ZnO layer.

Development of highly transparent Pd-coated Ag nanowire electrode for display and catalysis applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canlier, Ali, E-mail: ali.canlier@agu.edu.tr [Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey); Ucak, Umit Volkan, E-mail: sirvolkan@gmail.com [Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey); Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), P.O. Box 305-701, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Usta, Hakan, E-mail: husta38@gmail.com [Department of Materials Science and Nanotechnology Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey); Cho, Changsoon, E-mail: cscho@kaist.ac.kr [Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), P.O. Box 305-701, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jung-Yong, E-mail: jungyong.lee@kaist.ac.kr [Graduate School of Energy, Environment, Water, and Sustainability (EEWS), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), P.O. Box 305-701, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Sen, Unal, E-mail: senunal@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey); Citir, Murat, E-mail: muratcitir@gmail.com [Department of Chemical Engineering, Abdullah Gul University, P.O. Box 38080, Kayseri (Turkey)

2015-09-30

Highlights: • Highly uniform thin-layer coating of Pd onto Ag nanowire surface was accomplished. • A transparent electrode of Pd-coated Ag nanowire was uniformly deposited on flexible substrate. • 95% of optical transmittance and 175 Ω/sq sheet resistance were obtained. • Extremely low haze of 1.9% and high oxidation stability proved an efficient transparent electrode. • This electrode can be used as Pd-catalyst for synthesis reactions and fuel cell electrode applications. - Abstract: Ag nanowire transparent electrode has excellent transmittance (90%) and sheet resistance (20 Ω/sq), yet there are slight drawbacks such as optical haze and chemical instability against aerial oxidation. Chemical stability of Ag nanowires needs to be improved in order for it to be suitable for electrode applications. In our recent article, we demonstrated that coating Ag nanowires with a thin layer of Au through galvanic exchange reactions enhances the chemical stability of Ag nanowire films highly and also helps to obtain lower haze. In this study, coating of a thin Pd layer has been applied successfully onto the surface of Ag nanowires. A mild Pd complex oxidant [Pd(en){sub 2}](NO{sub 3}){sub 2} was prepared in order to oxidize Ag atoms partially on the surface via galvanic displacement. The mild galvanic exchange allowed for a thin layer (1–2 nm) of Pd coating on the Ag nanowires with minimal truncation of the nanowire, where the average length and the diameter were 12.5 μm and 59 nm, respectively. The Pd-coated Ag nanowires were suspended in methanol and then electrostatically sprayed on flexible polycarbonate substrates. It has been revealed that average total transmittance remain around 95% within visible spectrum region (400–800 nm) whereas sheet resistance rises up to 175 Ω/sq. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time in the literature, Pd coating was employed on Ag nanowires in order to design transparent electrodes for high transparency and strong

Optical and electrical properties of Cu-based all oxide semi-transparent photodetector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hong-Sik; Patel, Malkeshkumar; Yadav, Pankaj; Kim, Joondong, E-mail: joonkim@inu.ac.kr, E-mail: dwkim@ewha.ac.kr [Photoelectric and Energy Device Application Lab (PEDAL) and Department of Electrical Engineering, Incheon National University, 119 Academy Rd., Yeonsu, Incheon 406772 (Korea, Republic of); Sohn, Ahrum; Kim, Dong-Wook, E-mail: joonkim@inu.ac.kr, E-mail: dwkim@ewha.ac.kr [Department of Physics, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 120750 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-09-05

Zero-bias operating Cu oxide-based photodetector was achieved by using large-scale available sputtering method. Cu oxide (Cu{sub 2}O or CuO) was used as p-type transparent layer to form a heterojunction by contacting n-type ZnO layer. All metal-oxide materials were employed to realize transparent device at room temperature and showed a high transparency (>75% at 600 nm) with excellent photoresponses. The structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of Cu oxides of CuO and Cu{sub 2}O are evaluated in depth by UV-visible spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy, and Hall measurements. We may suggest a route of high-functional Cu oxide-based photoelectric devices for the applications in flexible and transparent electronics.

Transparent metals for ultrabroadband electromagnetic waves.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Ren-Hao; Peng, Ru-Wen; Huang, Xian-Rong; Li, Jia; Liu, Yongmin; Hu, Qing; Wang, Mu; Zhang, Xiang

2012-04-17

Making metals transparent, which could lead to fascinating applications, has long been pursued. Here we demonstrate that with narrow slit arrays metallic plates become transparent for extremely broad bandwidths; the high transmission efficiency is insensitive to the metal thickness. This work provides a guideline to develop novel devices, including transparent conducting panels, broadband metamaterials, and antireflective solar cells. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High power pulsed magnetron sputtering of transparent conducting oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sittinger, V.; Ruske, F.; Werner, W.; Jacobs, C.; Szyszka, B.; Christie, D.J.

2008-01-01

High power pulsed magnetron sputtering (HPPMS) has been used in order to study the deposition of transparent conducting oxides. We summarize the studies carried out on different materials (indium tin oxide-ITO and aluminium-doped zinc oxide-AZO) using rather different technological approaches, namely sputtering of ceramic targets and reactive sputtering. For the deposition of AZO reactive HPPMS for metallic targets has been used. A feedback control loop has been implemented in order to stabilize the discharge at any given setpoint on the hysteresis curve. The hysteresis was also found to have a rather untypical form. Reactive HPPMS was found to be a promising tool for obtaining high quality films of low total thickness. In the case of ITO deposition a ceramic target has been used. The process has been characterized in terms of its plasma emission and increasing indium ionization was found for higher peak power densities. The properties of the deposited films were compared to DC sputtered films. While for DC sputtering the choice of oxygen addition and shieldings is crucial for determining surface morphology and resistivity, in HPPMS sputtering peak power density has been found to be a good parameter for influencing the crystal structure. The morphologies obtained differ strongly from those seen in DC sputtering. At high power densities films with low surface roughness and excellent resistivity could be deposited without the use of shieldings

Organizational Transparency in the Internet Industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Flyverbom, Mikkel

as a panacea to concerns about privacy, organizational conduct and accountability, this paper explores the boundary work that goes into doing and promising transparency Using insights from the literature on transparency, ´sociologies of translations' and process approaches to organization, this paper captures...

Effect of cross-linkable polymer on the morphology and properties of transparent multi-walled carbon nanotube conductive films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Yuan-Li; Tien, Hsi-Wen; Ma, Chen-Chi M.; Teng, Chih-Chun; Yu, Yi-Hsiuan; Yang, Shin-Yi; Wei, Ming-Hsiung; Wu, Sheng-Yen

2011-01-01

In this study, we fabricated optically transparent and electrically conductive multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) thin films using a spray-coating technique. The transparency and the electrical resistance of thin film are dependent on the nanotube content deposited on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were used as adhesion promoters to improve MWCNT coating more significantly. The cross-linked polymer resulted in a superior bond between the MWCNTs and the substrates. The surface electrical resistance was significantly lower than the original sheet after nitric acid (HNO 3 ) treatment because of the removed surfactant and the increased interconnecting networks of MWCNT bundles, thus improving the electrical and optical properties of the films. Stronger interaction between the MWCNTs and the substrates resulted in lower decomposition of the polymer chain and less amounts of MWCNTs separated into the HNO 3 solution. The lower sheet electrical resistance of PVP/PAA-g-MWCNT conductive films on the PET substrate was because of a more complete conductive path with the cross-linked polymer than that without. Such an improved sheet of electrical resistance varied from 8.83 x 10 4 Ω/□ to 2.65 x 10 3 Ω/□ with 5.0 wt.% PVP/PAA-g-MWCNT sprayed on the PET after acid treatment.

Effect of cross-linkable polymer on the morphology and properties of transparent multi-walled carbon nanotube conductive films

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yuan-Li; Tien, Hsi-Wen; Ma, Chen-Chi M.; Teng, Chih-Chun; Yu, Yi-Hsiuan; Yang, Shin-Yi; Wei, Ming-Hsiung; Wu, Sheng-Yen

2011-10-01

In this study, we fabricated optically transparent and electrically conductive multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) thin films using a spray-coating technique. The transparency and the electrical resistance of thin film are dependent on the nanotube content deposited on the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) were used as adhesion promoters to improve MWCNT coating more significantly. The cross-linked polymer resulted in a superior bond between the MWCNTs and the substrates. The surface electrical resistance was significantly lower than the original sheet after nitric acid (HNO 3) treatment because of the removed surfactant and the increased interconnecting networks of MWCNT bundles, thus improving the electrical and optical properties of the films. Stronger interaction between the MWCNTs and the substrates resulted in lower decomposition of the polymer chain and less amounts of MWCNTs separated into the HNO 3 solution. The lower sheet electrical resistance of PVP/PAA-g-MWCNT conductive films on the PET substrate was because of a more complete conductive path with the cross-linked polymer than that without. Such an improved sheet of electrical resistance varied from 8.83 × 10 4 Ω/□ to 2.65 × 10 3 Ω/□ with 5.0 wt.% PVP/PAA-g-MWCNT sprayed on the PET after acid treatment.

Highly transparent and conductive thin films fabricated with nano-silver/double-walled carbon nanotube composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Shie-Heng; Teng, Chih-Chun; Ma, Chen-Chi M; Wang, Ikai

2011-12-01

This study develops a technique for enhancing the electrical conductivity and optical transmittance of transparent double-walled carbon nanotube (DWNT) film. Silver nanoparticles were modified with a NH(2)(CH(2))(2)SH self-assembled monolayer terminated by amino groups and subsequent surface condensation that reacted with functionalized DWNTs. Ag nanoparticles were grafted on the surface of the DWNTs. The low sheet resistance of the resulting thin conductive film on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate was due to the increased contact areas between DWNTs and work function by grafting Ag nanoparticles on the DWNT surfaces. Increasing the contact area between DWNTs and work function improved the conductivity of the DWNT-Ag thin films. The prepared DWNT-Ag thin films had a sheet resistance of 53.4 Ω/sq with 90.5% optical transmittance at a 550 nm wavelength. After treatment with HNO(3) and annealing at 150 °C for 30 min, a lower sheet resistance of 45.8 Ω/sq and a higher transmittance of 90.4% could be attained. The value of the DC conductivity to optical conductivity (σ(DC)/σ(OP)) ratio is 121.3. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Heat conduction boundary layers of condensed clumps in cooling flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehringer, H.; Fabian, A.C.

1989-01-01

The structure of heat conduction boundary layers of gaseous condensations embedded in the hot intergalactic gas in clusters of galaxies is investigated by means of steady, one-dimensional, hydrodynamic models. It is assumed that heat conduction is effective only on scales much smaller than the total region of the cooling flow. Models are calculated for an arbitrary scaling factor, accounting for the reduction in heat conduction efficiency compared to the classical Spitzer case. The results imply a lower limit to the size spectrum of the condensations. The enhancement of cooling in the ambient medium due to heat conduction losses is calculated for a range of clump parameters. The luminosity of several observable emission lines, the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray emission spectrum, and the column density of some important ions are determined for the model boundary layers and compared with observations. (author)

Highly thermal conductivity and infrared emissivity of flexible transparent film heaters utilizing silver-decorated carbon nanomaterials as fillers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Yu-An; Chen, Yin-Ju; Tai, Nyan-Hwa

2014-01-01

A flexible transparent film heater using functionalized few-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene nanosheets decorated with silver nanoparticles as fillers and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)- poly(4-stryrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as a dispersant possesses excellent optoelectronic and electrothermal properties. The film possesses a low sheet resistance of 53.0 ± 4.2 ohm · sq −1 , a transmittance of 80.2 ± 0.8% at a wavelength of 550 nm, a high thermal conductivity of 142.0 ± 9.6 W · m −1  · K −1 , a quick response time of less than 60 s, stable heating performance, good reliability, low power consumption, flexibility, and uniform heat diffusion. Besides, the film shows an average infrared emissivity of 0.53 in the wavelength range of 4 to 14 μm, which shows an outstanding heat release performance by radiation. The flexible transparent film heaters adopting graphene and carbon nanotubes as fillers boast excellent electrothermal performance through heat conduction and infrared radiation, suggesting that they are good substitutes for traditional metallic and indium tin oxide film heaters. (papers)

Facile Synthesis of Ultralong and Thin Copper Nanowires and Its Application to High-Performance Flexible Transparent Conductive Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yaxiong; Liu, Ping; Zeng, Baoqing; Liu, Liming; Yang, Jianjun

2018-03-01

A hydrothermal method for synthesizing ultralong and thin copper nanowires (CuNWs) with average diameter of 35 nm and average length of 100 μm is demonstrated in this paper. The concerning raw materials include copric (II) chloride dihydrate (CuCl2·2H2O), octadecylamine (ODA), and ascorbic acid, which are all very cheap and nontoxic. The effect of different reaction time and different molar ratios to the reaction products were researched. The CuNWs prepared by the hydrothermal method were applied to fabricate CuNW transparent conductive electrode (TCE), which exhibited excellent conductivity-transmittance performance with low sheet resistance of 26.23 Ω /\\square and high transparency at 550 nm of 89.06% (excluding Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate). The electrode fabrication process was carried out at room temperature, and there was no need for post-treatment. In order to decrease roughness and protect CuNW TCEs against being oxidized, we fabricated CuNW/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) hybrid TCEs (HTCEs) using PMMA solution. The CuNW/PMMA HTCEs exhibited low surface roughness and chemical stability as compared with CuNW TCEs.

Lignin-Retaining Transparent Wood.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yuanyuan; Fu, Qiliang; Rojas, Ramiro; Yan, Min; Lawoko, Martin; Berglund, Lars

2017-09-11

Optically transparent wood, combining optical and mechanical performance, is an emerging new material for light-transmitting structures in buildings with the aim of reducing energy consumption. One of the main obstacles for transparent wood fabrication is delignification, where around 30 wt % of wood tissue is removed to reduce light absorption and refractive index mismatch. This step is time consuming and not environmentally benign. Moreover, lignin removal weakens the wood structure, limiting the fabrication of large structures. A green and industrially feasible method has now been developed to prepare transparent wood. Up to 80 wt % of lignin is preserved, leading to a stronger wood template compared to the delignified alternative. After polymer infiltration, a high-lignin-content transparent wood with transmittance of 83 %, haze of 75 %, thermal conductivity of 0.23 W mK -1 , and work-tofracture of 1.2 MJ m -3 (a magnitude higher than glass) was obtained. This transparent wood preparation method is efficient and applicable to various wood species. The transparent wood obtained shows potential for application in energy-saving buildings. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

A novel resource management method of providing operating system as a service for mobile transparent computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Yonghua; Huang, Suzhen; Wu, Min; Zhang, Yaoxue; She, Jinhua

2014-01-01

This paper presents a framework for mobile transparent computing. It extends the PC transparent computing to mobile terminals. Since resources contain different kinds of operating systems and user data that are stored in a remote server, how to manage the network resources is essential. In this paper, we apply the technologies of quick emulator (QEMU) virtualization and mobile agent for mobile transparent computing (MTC) to devise a method of managing shared resources and services management (SRSM). It has three layers: a user layer, a manage layer, and a resource layer. A mobile virtual terminal in the user layer and virtual resource management in the manage layer cooperate to maintain the SRSM function accurately according to the user's requirements. An example of SRSM is used to validate this method. Experiment results show that the strategy is effective and stable.

A Novel Resource Management Method of Providing Operating System as a Service for Mobile Transparent Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yonghua Xiong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a framework for mobile transparent computing. It extends the PC transparent computing to mobile terminals. Since resources contain different kinds of operating systems and user data that are stored in a remote server, how to manage the network resources is essential. In this paper, we apply the technologies of quick emulator (QEMU virtualization and mobile agent for mobile transparent computing (MTC to devise a method of managing shared resources and services management (SRSM. It has three layers: a user layer, a manage layer, and a resource layer. A mobile virtual terminal in the user layer and virtual resource management in the manage layer cooperate to maintain the SRSM function accurately according to the user’s requirements. An example of SRSM is used to validate this method. Experiment results show that the strategy is effective and stable.

Enhanced ionic conductivity in composite materials due to interfacial space charge layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dudney, N.J.

1985-01-01

The ionic conductivity of a number of salts (e.g., β-AgI, LiI, CuCl, HgI 2 , etc.) can be enhanced by one to three orders of magnitude with the addition of fine particles of an insoluble and nonconducting material such as Al 2 O 3 or SiO 2 . Typically the conductivity increases with addition of the inert particles and reaches a peak at 10-40 vol % of the particles. The mechanism responsible for the enhanced conductivity of the composite is not understood at this time. Some claim that this effect is due to an increased concentration of charge carriers in a diffuse space charge layer near the charged surface of the particle. The goal of the present study is to test this proposed mechanism by calculating the maximum space charge layer effect and then using this result to estimate the conductivity of a composite with a random distribution of Al 2 O 3 particles. Also, the conductivity of composite systems has been investigated assuming an ordered distribution of particles which are surrounded by a high conductivity layer

Transparent electrodes in the terahertz regime – a new approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malureanu, Radu; Song, Z.; Zalkovskij, Maksim

We suggest a new possibility for obtaining a transparent metallic film, thus allowing for completely transparent electrodes. By placing a complementary composite layer on top of the electrode, we can cancel the back-scattering of the latter thus obtaining a perfectly transparent structure. For ea...... of fabrication, we performed the first experiments in the THz regime, but the concept is applicable to the entire electromagnetic waves spectrum. We show that the experiments and theory match each other perfectly....

Structural and interfacial defects in c-axis oriented LiNbO{sub 3} thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition on Si using Al : ZnO conducting layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shandilya, Swati; Sreenivas, K; Gupta, Vinay [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Tomar, Monika [Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India)

2009-05-07

Highly c-axis oriented LiNbO{sub 3} films are deposited using pulsed laser deposition on a silicon substrate using a transparent conducting Al doped ZnO layer. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic analysis show the fabrication of single phase and oriented LiNbO{sub 3} films under the optimized deposition condition. An extra peak at 905 cm{sup -1} was observed in the Raman spectra of LiNbO{sub 3} film deposited at higher substrate temperature and higher oxygen pressure, and attributed to the presence of niobium antisite defects in the lattice. Dielectric constant and ac conductivity of oriented LiNbO{sub 3} films deposited under the static and rotating substrate modes have been studied. Films deposited under the rotating substrate mode exhibit dielectric properties close to the LiNbO{sub 3} single crystal. The cause of deviation in the dielectric properties of the film deposited under the static substrate mode, in comparison with the bulk, are discussed in the light of the possible formation of an interdiffusion layer at the interface of the LiNbO{sub 3} film and the Al : ZnO layer.