Crystallographic and electric properties of a palladium doped silver (Ag–Pd) layer formed on an aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) film in the multilayer system of Ag–Pd(10.5 nm)/AZO(42 nm)/glass were investigated. All of the films in this study were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering. Two kinds of sputtering targets, aluminum doped zinc metal (AZ) and AZO, were used for the deposition of AZO films. The AZ target was sputtered in an oxygen or carbon dioxide atmosphere whereas the AZO target was sputtered in an argon or argon/oxygen atmosphere. The Ag–Pd layers were deposited under the fixed sputtering condition. From x-ray diffraction patterns it was found that the most developed Ag(111) peak appeared in the case of the Ag–Pd film on the AZO layer deposited from the AZ metal target with oxygen. Atomic force microscope observation revealed that the smallest surface roughness was obtained in this case. Electrical resistivity of the Ag–Pd layer changed by up to 17% depending on deposition conditions and the target materials of the underlayer. The Ag–Pd film deposited on the AZO layer from the AZ target in an oxygen atmosphere also showed the lowest resistivity of 7.1×10−6 Ω cm. The smallest refractive index of Ag–Pd film was shown by the same sample from an analysis using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). Deposition of a thin metal (Zn–Al) overlayer on Ag–Pd/AZO/glass increased the overall resistivity of the multilayer. This may imply the diffusion of zinc atoms into the Ag–Pd layer, however, the resistivity recovery was observed after some storage time, which suggests the effect of an electron scattering at the surface.

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