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Tuning the physical properties of amorphous In-Zn-Sn-O thin films using combinatorial sputtering

  • Functional Oxides Research Letter
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Abstract

Transparent conductive oxides and amorphous oxide semiconductors are important materials for many modern technologies. Here, we explore the ternary indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO) using combinatorial synthesis and spatially resolved characterization. The electrical conductivity, work function, absorption onset, mechanical hardness, and elastic modulus of the optically transparent (>85%) amorphous IZTO thin films were found to be in the range of 10-2415 S/cm, 4.6-5.3 eV, 3.20-3.34 eV, 9.0-10.8 GPa, and 111-132 GPa, respectively, depending on the cation composition and the deposition conditions. This study enables control of IZTO performance over a broad range of cation compositions.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, under Award Number DE-AC36-08GO28308 to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). P.F.N. and A.Z. gratefully acknowledge support from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences Program, as part of the CNMGD Energy Frontier Research Center. J.D.P. and D.S.G. gratefully acknowledge support from Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Solar Energy Technology Program, as a part of SunShot initiative. M.K. gratefully acknowledges funding from Center for Revolutionary Solar Photoconversion (CRSP). C.P. gratefully acknowledges funding from a joint appointment at NREL. P. F.N. would like to thank Dr. Thomas Gennett and Dr. Philip Parilla at NREL for useful discussions.

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Author notes

  1. M. Kumar

    Present address: Present address: Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, PB-140 001, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    P. F. Ndione

  2. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    A. Zakutayev

  3. Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    M. Kumar

  4. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    C. E. Packard

  5. Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois Street, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    C. E. Packard

  6. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, CO, 80401, USA

    J. J. Berry, J. D. Perkins & D. S. Ginley

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  1. P. F. Ndione
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Correspondence to P. F. Ndione.

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Present address: Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, PB-140 001, India.

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The supplementary material for this article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2016.57

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Ndione, P.F., Zakutayev, A., Kumar, M. et al. Tuning the physical properties of amorphous In-Zn-Sn-O thin films using combinatorial sputtering. MRS Communications 6, 360–366 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2016.57

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