Thin and flexible transparent conductors with superior bendability having Al-doped ZnO layers with embedded Ag nanoparticles prepared by magnetron sputtering

Vibrational Property-Driven NIR Transparency in X:ZnO (X = Mo, Al) Multilayer Transparent Electrodes for Self-Powered Flexible Optoelectronics

“…These types of studies play a vital role in examining the mechanical properties of materials like ductility, upon being subjected to different conditions such as the introduction of the residual stress profiles related to the gradient of the compositions in the matrix and the insertion of new phases. − Surprisingly, the behavior of the residual stress is different for the five-layer system with AZO, as depicted in Figure e. Here, although the gradient of the residual stresses is present for samples A2 and AaA, it almost disappears in sample AaAaA and becomes purely compressive in nature, which is ascribed to varying dopant contents associated with the change in the dopant intake and ease of adjustment to the host crystal structure corresponding to different dopants. , Thus, sample AaAaA is likely to show good mechanical stability from the intuitive analogy of microstructural analysis in AZO/AgNP/AZO structures presented in ref . The existence of such residual stress gradient is common in metallurgy, and in one such work, Ricardo et al reported a similar kind of variation in residual stress against tilt angles and proposed the presence of such nonlinear peculiar behavior arising from the nonhomogeneity in the microstructure or composition ascribed to the presence of two phasesa highly textured phase and a polycrystalline one .…”

“…Al-doped ZnO (AZO) and Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films have been realized as successful transparent conducting anodes by sputtering operating in the visible range. Several works reported group-III (B, Al, Ga, In) elements doped in ZnO, and limited reports are available for Mo-doped ZnO (MZO) films; the best results are obtained with the dopants Al and Ga. ,− Mo is projected as the potential dopant in ZnO owing to the lower ionic radius of Mo 6+ compared to Zn 2+ , multiple valence states (+6, 5, 4, 3, 2), and high valence difference with Zn 2+ facilitating more electrons in the system. Recently, Mo-doped transparent oxides were reported to demonstrate IR transparency in contrast to AZO and GZO. − …”

Tunable physical properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films by O2 and Ar plasma treatments

“…However, its high price and brittle characteristics limit its application in transparent electrodes [9][10][11]. Al-doped ZnO (AZO) can be used as a flexible transparent electrode owing to its high conductivity, good flexibility, low cost, and eco-friendly characteristics [12][13][14][15].…”

Solution processed glass/fluorine-doped tin oxide/aluminum-doped zinc oxide double layer thin films for transparent heater and near-infrared reflecting applications

“…In addition, AZO thin films can be deposited with comparable optical transparency and electrical conductivity to ITO, which makes them suitable THs in various applications including smart windows and deicers/defoggers [15]. Hence, many recent studies have proposed AZO-based heaters as an appropriate substitute for ITO in THs applications [14,[16][17][18]. In addition to its heater characteristics, a suitably tailored AZO thin film can be more effective than commercial ITO in terms of heat reflection in the nearinfrared (NIR) region of the spectrum for smart window applications [19].…”