The Influence of Ag Thickness on the Electrical and Optical Properties of ZnO/Ag/SnO2 Tri-layer Films

Transparent and conductive ZnO/Ag/SnO2 (ZAS) tri-layer films were deposited onto glass substrates at room temperature by using radio frequency (RF) and direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering. The thickness values of the ZnO and SnO2 thin films were kept constant at 50 nm and the value for Ag interlayer was varied as 5, 10, 15, and 20 nm. In the XRD pattern the diffraction peaks were identified as the (002) and (103) planes of ZnO, while the (111), (200), (220), and (311) planes could be attributed to the Ag interlayer. The optical transmittance and electrical resistivity were dependent on the thickness of the Ag interlayer. The ZAS films with a 10 nm thick Ag interlayer exhibited a higher figure of merit than the other ZAS films prepared in this study. From the observed results, a ZAS film with a 10 nm thick Ag interlayer was believed to be an alternative transparent electrode candidate for various opto-electrical devices.