Among the materials used as transparent electrodes, silver nanowires (AgNWs) have attracted attention because of their high transmittance and excellent conductivity. However, AgNWs have shortcomings, including their poor adhesion, oxidation by atmospheric oxygen, and unstable characteristics at high temperature. To overcome these shortcomings, multi-layer thin films with an aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO)/AgNW/AZO structure were fabricated using facing targets sputtering. The samples heated to 350 °C exhibited stable electrical characteristics. In addition, the adhesion to the substrate was improved compared with AgNWs layer. The AZO/AgNW/AZO thin films with multilayer structure overcame the shortcomings of AgNWs, and we propose their use as transparent electrodes with excellent properties for optoelectronic applications.
We have investigated electrical, optical and structural properties of silver nanowire (AgNW)/zinc oxide (ZnO) transparent conductive bilayer films for optoelectronic applications. The AgNW/ZnO transparent conductive bilayer films were fabricated using spin-coating and facing target sputtering (FTS) method. The spin-coated the AgNW layer has advantages, such as low resistivity and high transmittance in visible range. However, the spin-coated AgNW layers can be oxidized by natural oxygen. Consequently, the conductivity of AgNW layer was strongly decreased. So, an oxidation prevented layer is necessary. The ZnO thin film layer on the Ag NW layer can be prevented oxidation. In addition, the peeling of spin-coated AgNW layer were prevented the deposited ZnO thin film layer. As the results, the sheet resistance and average transmittance in visible range of AgNW/ZnO transparent bilayer thin films exhibited 34.1 ohm/sq. and 83.46%.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.