Competing effect of Cu and Ag thicknesses in monitoring optoelectronic properties of AZO/Cu/Ag/AZO transparent conducting structures deposited on glass substrate

IF 4.2 3区材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Optical Materials Pub Date : 2025-08-26 DOI:10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117442

Tahar Touam , Djelloul Mendil , Azeddine Chelouche , Djamel Djouadi , Fatiha Challali

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigates the synergistic effects of Cu and Ag interlayers on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of AZO/Cu/Ag/AZO transparent conductive multilayers deposited on glass via RF sputtering. The Cu/Ag thickness ratio was varied while maintaining a total metal thickness of 10 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that balanced or Ag-rich configurations (3/7 and 5/5 nm) enhanced AZO crystallinity, with 5/5 nm giving the largest crystallite size. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirmed that surface morphology and roughness were thickness-dependent. Optical analysis indicated that Ag-rich layers improved visible transmittance, while Cu-rich layers favored near-infrared transparency. Hall effect measurements revealed the lowest resistivity (1.25 × 10⁻³ Ω cm) for 5/5 nm, linked to improved metal continuity and crystallinity. The highest figure of merit (FOM, 7.56 × 10⁻⁵ Ω⁻¹) occurred for 3/7 nm, demonstrating optimal optoelectronic balance and highlighting the complementary roles of Cu and Ag in tuning TCO properties.

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Cu和Ag厚度对AZO/Cu/Ag/AZO透明导电结构光电性能监测的竞争效应

本文研究了Cu和Ag中间层对通过射频溅射沉积在玻璃上的AZO/Cu/Ag/AZO透明导电多层膜的结构、光学和电学性能的协同效应。在保持金属总厚度为10 nm的情况下，改变Cu/Ag厚度比。x射线衍射（XRD）表明，平衡或富银构型（3/7 nm和5/5 nm）增强了AZO的结晶度，其中5/5 nm的晶粒尺寸最大。原子力显微镜（AFM）证实，表面形貌和粗糙度与厚度有关。光学分析表明，富银层提高了可见光透过率，而富铜层提高了近红外透过率。霍尔效应测量显示，5/5 nm的电阻率最低（1.25 × 10−3 Ω cm），与改善的金属连续性和结晶度有关。最优值（FOM, 7.56 × 10−5 Ω−1）出现在3/7 nm，显示出最佳的光电平衡，并突出了Cu和Ag在调整TCO性能中的互补作用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Optical Materials 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

6.60

自引率

12.80%

发文量

1265

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Optical Materials has an open access mirror journal Optical Materials: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review. The purpose of Optical Materials is to provide a means of communication and technology transfer between researchers who are interested in materials for potential device applications. The journal publishes original papers and review articles on the design, synthesis, characterisation and applications of optical materials. OPTICAL MATERIALS focuses on: • Optical Properties of Material Systems; • The Materials Aspects of Optical Phenomena; • The Materials Aspects of Devices and Applications. Authors can submit separate research elements describing their data to Data in Brief and methods to Methods X.