ZnO/Cu/ZnO multilayer structures are obtained with the highest conductivity of dielectric-metal-dielectric films reported in literature with a carrier concentration of 1.2×1022 cm−3 and resistivity of 6.9×10−5 Ω-cm at the optimum copper layer thickness. The peak transmittance, photopic averaged transmittance, and Haacke figure of merit are 88%, 75%, and 8.7×10−3 Ω−1, respectively. The conduction mechanism involves metal to oxide carrier injection prior to the formation of a continuous metal conduction pathway. Optical transmission is elucidated in terms of copper’s absorption due to d-band to Fermi surface transitions at short wavelengths and reflectance combined with scattering losses at long wavelengths.

Gold-embedded zinc oxide structures are obtained in which the conduction mechanism changes from conduction through the oxide and activated tunneling between discontinuous metal islands to metallic conduction through a near-continuous layer, with increase in gold thickness. These structures can show resistivity as low as 5.2×10−5 Ω cm. Optical transmission is elucidated in terms of gold’s absorption due to interband electronic transitions, and free carrier absorption losses combined with limitation of the mean free path in discontinuous nanoparticles. The structures show transmittance, photopic averaged transmittance, and Haacke figure of merit values of 93%, 84%, and 15.1×10−3 Ω−1, respectively.

ZnO/Cu/ZnO multilayer structures with very high conductivity have been obtained by magnetron sputtering. The Hall resistivity of the films was as low as 6.9×10−5 Ω-cm with a carrier concentration of 1.2×1022 cm−3 at the optimum copper layer thickness. The conduction mechanism has been explained in terms of metal to oxide carrier injection at low copper thickness and metal layer conduction at higher Cu thicknesses. The peak transmittance of the films is 88% and the photopic averaged transmittance is 75%. Optical transmission behavior of the films involves absorption by copper due to d-band to Fermi-surface transitions at short wavelengths and reflectance combined with scattering losses at long wavelengths. A Burstein–Moss shift in the band gap of the films is seen to take place with increase in thickness of the copper layer. The Haacke figure of merit has been calculated for the films with the best value being 8.7×10−3 Ω−1. Pole figure results reveal that the copper midlayer acts as a hindrance to (002) ZnO texturing rather than as a seed layer. These results also confirm the mechanism of conduction. The results of the study assume further significance because annealing at 150 °C for up to 24 h in a reducing (Ar+5% H2) ambient was found to have negligible effect on the properties of the films.

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