Japanese Journal of Applied Physics · 2002 · 43 citations · 0 references
Natural SciencesMaterials EngineeringMaterials ScienceElectronic MaterialsOptical MaterialsThin FilmsOptical Thin FilmsSemiconductor Thin FilmsThin Film Electrical PropertiesThin Film Optical PropertiesThin-film MaterialsTransparent Conducting OxidesMagnetron SputteringSemiconductor Oxide Thin FilmsSputteringThin Oxide FilmsThin Oxide LayersThin-film ElectrodesThin-film OxidesTin Oxides
A thin film of tin oxide (SnO2) was prepared on a plastic substrate by DC magnetron roll sputtering. The deposition thickness of SnO2 rapidly decreased with the increase of O2 gas flow rate, even though the refractive index remained almost constant at the level of 2.0 after the flow rate exceeded 40 sccm. The SnO2 thin film was applied as the oxide layer of the inner side of the multilayer conductive electrode having the sandwich structure of the oxide/metal/oxide system for flat panel display (FPD). The SnO2 layer in the sandwich structure (SnO2/Ag/ In2O3–SnO2; ITO) serves as a nucleation modification layer of the metal layer while preventing the diffusion of materials from the metal layer (Ag) to the barrier layer (SiO2). In particular, the transmittance in the 600–700 nm range is about 10% higher than that measured for the ITO/Ag/ITO structured electrode. This multilayered conductor also has approximately 5–8 Ω/square electrical resistance and 85% optical transmission at 550 nm.