Research Progress of Transparent Electrode Materials with Sandwich Structure

Abstract

The nonrenewable nature of fossil energy has led to a gradual decrease in reserves. Meanwhile, as society becomes increasingly aware of the severe pollution caused by fossil energy, the demand for clean energy, such as solar energy, is rising. Moreover, in recent years, electronic devices with screens, such as mobile phones and computers, have had increasingly higher requirements for light transmittance. Whether in solar cells or in the display elements of electronic devices, transparent conductive films directly affect the performance of these devices as a cover layer. In this context, the development of transparent electrodes with low sheet resistance and high light transmittance has become one of the most urgent issues in related fields. At the same time, conventional electrodes can no longer meet the needs of some of the current flexible devices. Because of the high sheet resistance, poor light transmittance, and poor bending stability of the conventional tin-doped indium tin oxide conductive film and fluorine-doped tin oxide transparent conductive glass, there is a need to find alternatives with better performance. In this article, the progress of research on transparent electrode materials with sandwich structures and their advantages is reviewed according to the classification of conductive materials to provide reference for research in related fields.

A Brief Review of Transparent Conducting Oxides (TCO): The Influence of Different Deposition Techniques on the Efficiency of Solar Cells

“…Nevertheless, the high cost, inadequate reserves, and toxicity of indium have restricted its large-scale application. Furthermore, for the large-scale fabrication of solar cells, the ITO has serious limitations and faces obstacles resulting from poor transparency and high resistivity [ 88 ]. The devel-opment of ITO performance by improving the electrical and optical characteristics is es-sential, due to the mass production of electronic devices [ 88 , 89 ].…”

“…Furthermore, for the large-scale fabrication of solar cells, the ITO has serious limitations and faces obstacles resulting from poor transparency and high resistivity [ 88 ]. The devel-opment of ITO performance by improving the electrical and optical characteristics is es-sential, due to the mass production of electronic devices [ 88 , 89 ]. Thus, many researchers focus on hunting substitutes for the ITO to achieve new transparent electrodes with high performance and earth-abundant materials [ 88 ].…”

“…The devel-opment of ITO performance by improving the electrical and optical characteristics is es-sential, due to the mass production of electronic devices [ 88 , 89 ]. Thus, many researchers focus on hunting substitutes for the ITO to achieve new transparent electrodes with high performance and earth-abundant materials [ 88 ]. Along with ITO:Zr, double layer ITO/In 2 O 3 , ZnO:B, Mo, Ti, W, and Nb-doped ITO, novel multicomponent ITOs with low sheet resistance and high transmittance should be explored in the near future.…”

On the Effect of the Co-Introduction of Al and Ga Impurities on the Electrical Performance of Transparent Conductive ZnO-Based Thin Films

“…A thin-film transparent electrode is an integral passive element of many optoelectronic devices, such as liquid crystal displays, solar cells, light-emitting diodes, radiation and gas resistive-type sensors, etc. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. From the term “transparent electrode”, it follows that the thin films of this functional application must be characterized by high optical transmittance in the visible region and have as little electrical resistivity as possible.…”

Flexible Transparent Heater Fabricated from Spray-Coated In:ZnO/Ag-NWs/In:ZnO Multilayers on Polyimide Foil

“…Another disadvantage concerning ITO is that indium is scarce and has a high cost. To address these shortcomings, in recent years, materials such as metallic nanowires, carbon nanotubes, metallic nanofilms and meshes, conducting polymers and combinations of these, have opened new perspectives, functionalities and applications for TCMs [1,[3][4][5][6][7]. Additionally, advantageous for certain emerging TCMs is their ability to be processed by non-vacuum-based techniques, particularly from solutions, which decreases capital expenditure and maintenance costs for deposition equipment.…”