Effects of gas flow rate on the structure and elemental composition of tin oxide thin films deposited by RF sputtering

Al-Mansoori, Muntaser; Alshaibani, S.; Al-Jaeedi, Ahlam M.; Lee, Jisung; Choi, Daniel S.; Hasoon, Falah S.

doi:10.1063/1.5001883

Cited by 17 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The trends of the average IZO thickness were decreased and saturated after 4 sccm as the flow rate of the O2 was increased, as shown in Figure 2(a). The high flow rate of the O2 was attributed to an increase in the pressure, resulting in a decreased mean free path and energy of sputter particles [19,20]. In the case of the refractive index, as we induced O2, the refractive index shifted to a higher value compared to the IZO deposited at 0 sccm.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

IZO/ITO Double-Layered Transparent Conductive Oxide for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Lee

Kim

2022

IEEE Access

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Zinc-doped indium oxide (IZO)+tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) is proposed in this study as a double-layered transparent conductive oxide (TCO) for the application of silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. IZO is consecutively deposited via radio frequency sputtering at room temperature. The electrical and optical characteristics of IZO are examined depending on the thickness and the O2 flow rate, which ranged from 0 to 5 sccm. The improved photocurrent characteristic for the proposed SHJ solar cell with IZO+ITO is achieved from 40.64 to 41.3 mA/cm 2 by an OPAL2 solar cell simulation. The sheet resistance of IZO slightly increases from 120 to 130 Ω/□ , which is caused by a decrease in the O2 vacancy due to an increase in the O2 flow rate from 1 to 5 sccm. The SHJ solar cells with 4.84 nm IZO deposited at the O2 flow rate of 4 sccm show the lowest solar weighted reflectance of 4.36%. Therefore, these results indicate that IZO+ITO is expected to increase the efficiency of SHJ solar cells.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 77%

IZO/ITO Double-Layered Transparent Conductive Oxide for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Lee

Kim

2022

IEEE Access

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“…Again, with higher gas flow rate and moderately high power leads to a high bombardment of the atom, which may cause sputter damage to the film. Hence, optimization of gas flow rate is necessary to achieve desired material properties [ 21 , 22 ]. Many experimental works have been undertaken to study the effect of process parameters of RF magnetron sputtering on thin film properties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Ar Flow Rates on Micro-Structural Properties of WS2 Thin Film by RF Magnetron Sputtering

et al. 2021

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Tungsten disulfide (WS2) thin films were deposited on soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering at different Ar flow rates (3 to 7 sccm). The effect of Ar flow rates on the structural, morphology, and electrical properties of the WS2 thin films was investigated thoroughly. Structural analysis exhibited that all the as-grown films showed the highest peak at (101) plane corresponds to rhombohedral phase. The crystalline size of the film ranged from 11.2 to 35.6 nm, while dislocation density ranged from 7.8 × 1014 to 26.29 × 1015 lines/m2. All these findings indicate that as-grown WS2 films are induced with various degrees of defects, which were visible in the FESEM images. FESEM images also identified the distorted crystallographic structure for all the films except the film deposited at 5 sccm of Ar gas flow rate. EDX analysis found that all the films were having a sulfur deficit and suggested that WS2 thin film bears edge defects in its structure. Further, electrical analysis confirms that tailoring of structural defects in WS2 thin film can be possible by the varying Ar gas flow rates. All these findings articulate that Ar gas flow rate is one of the important process parameters in RF magnetron sputtering that could affect the morphology, electrical properties, and structural properties of WS2 thin film. Finally, the simulation study validates the experimental results and encourages the use of WS2 as a buffer layer of CdTe-based solar cells.

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“…In most contributions, SnO 2 films are polycrystalline. The data on point defects and the effect of the flow rate on the structure and elemental composition of thin tin oxide films are considered in [18]. Oxygen vacancies and Sn interstitials were observed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of annealing temperature on the morphology, structure, and optical properties of nanostructured SnO(x) films

Тимофеев

Mashanov

Nikiforov

et al. 2020

Mater. Res. Express

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Nanostructured SnO(x) films were obtained by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The morphology, structure, and optical properties of obtained films annealed in the temperature range of 200°C-1000°C were studied. The reflection high-energy electron diffraction during the film deposition by the MBE method and the x-ray phase analysis showed that the initial films are in the polycrystalline phase. A single orthorhombic SnO 2 phase was obtained for the first time after annealing the SnO(x) film in the air at a temperature of about 500°C. The sharp change in the optical constants near the temperature of 500°C was established using ellipsometry. The pronounced absorption edge appears in the short-wave region at temperatures above 500°C and it disappears at lower temperatures. The film thickness changed non-monotonically during the annealing in the air. At first, it grows from 45 nm to 65 nm (active oxidation to 500°C), and then (above 600°C) it begins to decrease. The annealing at temperatures of 500°C-1000°C leads to the film compaction, since the film thickness decreases to 50 nm, but the refractive index increases by 10%-15%. Optical constants track the progress of film phase and morphological changes.

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Effects of gas flow rate on the structure and elemental composition of tin oxide thin films deposited by RF sputtering

Cited by 17 publications

References 20 publications

IZO/ITO Double-Layered Transparent Conductive Oxide for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

IZO/ITO Double-Layered Transparent Conductive Oxide for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

Impact of Ar Flow Rates on Micro-Structural Properties of WS2 Thin Film by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Effect of annealing temperature on the morphology, structure, and optical properties of nanostructured SnO(x) films

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