Contrasting the grain boundary-affected performance of zinc and indium oxide transparent conductors. (8th March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vai, A T; Rashidi, N; Fang, Y; Kuznetsov, V L; Edwards, P P
• Is Part Of: Journal of physics. Volume 28:Number 22(2016)
• Publication Date: 2016-03-08
• Subjects: transparent conducting oxides -- electronic transport phenomena -- grain boundaries -- spray pyrolysis -- zinc and indium oxides; Condensed matter -- Periodicals; Matière condensée -- Périodiques; Vaste stoffen; Vloeistoffen; Natuurkunde; Electronic journals; Computer network resources; 530.4105
• DOI: 10.1088/0953-8984/28/22/224003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0953-8984

Abstract

Abstract: Zinc oxide-based transparent conductors have long been advanced for their potential as low-cost, earth-abundant replacements for the indium oxide-based materials that currently dominate in practical applications. However, this potential has yet to be realized because of the difficulties in producing zinc oxide thin films with the necessary high levels of electrical conductivity and environmental stability that are readily achieved using indium oxide. To better understand the fundamental reasons for this, polycrystalline zinc and indium oxide thin films were prepared across a range of deposition temperatures using the technique of spray pyrolysis. Electrical transport measurements of these samples both as a function of temperature and UV irradiation were correlated with film morphology to illustrate that the different grain boundary behaviour of these two materials is one of the key reasons for their divergent performance. This is a critical challenge that must be addressed before any substantial increase in the adoption of ZnO-based transparent conductors can take place.