Transparent conducting Zr-doped In2O3 thin films for organic light-emitting diodes

Abstract

Zirconium-doped indium oxide (ZIO) thin films (∼2000 Å thick) have been deposited by pulsed-laser deposition on glass substrates without a postdeposition anneal. The structural, electrical and optical properties of these films have been investigated as a function of substrate temperature and oxygen partial pressure during deposition. Films were deposited at substrate temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 400 °C in O2 partial pressures ranging from 0.1 to 50 mTorr. The films (∼2000 Å thick) deposited at 200 °C in 25 mTorr of oxygen show electrical resistivities as low as 2.5×10−4 Ω cm, an average visible transmittance of 89%, and an optical band gap of 4.1 eV. The ZIO films were used as a transparent anode contact in organic light emitting diodes and the device performance was studied. The external quantum efficiency measured from these devices was about 0.9% at a current density of 100 A/m2.