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Oxide-metal-oxide (OMO) multilayer film has attracted increasing interest due to its high performance, including the high optical transparency and low electric resistivity, and has been considered a promising substitute for the conventional indium tin oxide (ITO) film. In this work, we studied the role of growth parameters for the performance of sputtered ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer film. ITO/Ag/ITO film with superior properties of transmittance of 89.1% and sheet resistance of 8 Ω/□ was prepared. The effects of deviation of film thickness on the optical and properties were investigated systematically. Ultrathin ITO1−x film with thickness of less than 5 nm covers the active Ag surface to avoid Ag oxidation effectively, resulting in both high transmittance and conductivity. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profile analysis indicates the role of ultrathin ITO1−x film on Ag surface oxidation. This work provides a guideline to fabricate high-quality OMO-based films and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnO:Al films were prepared by magnetron sputtering at room temperature. During the growth process, H radicals produced by radio frequency power sources were in situ introduced into ZnO:Al films. By injecting H radicals, the content of Al in ZnO:Al films increased from 3.4 at. % to 6.1 at. %, which could be ascribed to the reaction between H radicals and ZnO as well as the resputtering of the Zn element. Surface morphologies of ZnO:Al films were tuned from smooth shape to sunflower seed-like. Furthermore, ZnO:Al films without injecting H radicals showed highly c-axis preferential orientation and then nearly became amorphous with the addition of H radicals, which corresponds to the results of Raman spectra. The grain boundary potentials decreased due to the removal of oxygen at grain boundaries and an amount of Vo was produced, which was proved by Raman and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results. The optimal resistivity of as-grown ZnO:Al films co-doped with H radicals was 1.5 × 10−3 Ω cm at an H2 ratio of 2.3%. The variation of the carrier concentration for annealed ZnO:Al films at different H2 ratios supported the existence of H interstitials and Vo. The optical bandgap varied from 3.44 eV to 3.71 eV with increasing H radicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a correlation between surface null potential and bistable resistive switching effect in dilutely Al-doped ZnO nearly transparent thin film. The nearly symmetrical bistable resistive switching was observed at low operating potential (±1 V) with good repeatability and stability, driven by surface null potential. We report that above null potential, oxygen vacancies in the proximity of aluminum provide systematic development of conducting paths. While, the switching effect was also observed to be dopant driven in the proximity to ±1 V. The phenomenon was explained using migration of Al3+ in ZnO matrix, which dominates over oxygen vacancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent conductive films (TCFs) have received much research attention in the area of aeronautical canopies. However, bad wear, corrosion resistance and weak erosion performance of TCFs dramatically limit their scalable application in the next-generation aeronautical and optoelectronic devices. To address these drawbacks, three types of optically transparent coatings, including acrylic, silicone and polyurethane (PU) coatings were developed and comparatively investigated ex situ in terms of Taber abrasion, nanoindentation and sand erosion tests to improve the wear-resistance and sand erosion abilities of ITO-coated PMMA substrates. To elucidate the sand erosion failure of the coatings, the nanoindentation technique was employed for quantitative assessment of the shape recovery abilities under probe indentation. Results show that the PU topcoats can greatly enhance the sand erosion properties, which were superior to those of acrylic and silicone topcoats. This result can be attributed to the good toughness and self-healing properties of PU topcoats. Additionally, high hardness and good Taber abrasion properties of the ITO films and silicone topcoats did not have an obvious or affirmatory effect on the sand erosion abilities, based on their brittleness and irreparable properties under sand erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly transparent indium-free multilayers of TiO2/Cu/TiO2 were obtained by means of annealing. The effects of Cu thickness and annealing temperature on the electrical and optical properties were investigated. The critical thickness of Cu mid-layer with optimal electrical and optical properties was 10 nm, with the figure of merit reaching as high as 5 × 10−3 Ω−1. Partial crystallization of the TiO2 layer enhanced the electrical and optical properties upon annealing. Electrothermal experiments showed that temperatures of more than 100 °C can be reached at a heating rate of 2 °C/s without any damage to the multilayers. The experimental results indicate that reliable transparent TiO2/Cu/TiO2 multilayers can be used for electrothermal application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]