Zinc–Tin Oxide Film as an Earth-Abundant Material and Its Versatile Applications to Electronic and Energy Materials

Abstract

Zinc–Tin Oxide (ZTO) films potentially offer desirable properties for next-generation devices and are considered promising candidates due to the following merits: (I) zinc and tin are abundant on Earth, with estimated reserves of approximately 250 million tons and 4.3 billion tons, respectively, (II) zinc and tin are harmless to the human body, and (III) large-area manufacturing with various synthesis processes is available. Considering the advantages and promises of these ZTO films, this review provides a timely overview of the progress and efforts in developing ZTO-based electronic and energy devices. This review revisits the ZTO films used for various device applications, including thin-film transistors, memory devices, solar cells, and sensors, focusing on their strong and weak points. This paper also discusses the opportunities and challenges for using ZTO films in further practical electronic and energy device applications.

Effect of the ZnSnO/AZO Interface on the Charge Extraction in Cd-Free Kesterite Solar Cells

“…The use of an alternative material to CdS, such as ZnSnO (ZTO) [13], Zn(O,S) [14] and TiO 2 [15], would, therefore, improve charge transport and make the devices cadmium-free [2]. Especially Zn x Sn 1−x O (ZTO) is an interesting alternative: it is appealing for scale production as it contains only earth-abundant and nontoxic constituents, [16] and it has a large and tunable band gap, controllable by varying the Zn to Sn ratio [17]. Already in 2012, several research groups successfully used ZTO as a buffer layer for CIGS-based solar cells, matching and exceeding the performance achieved with CdS [18,19].…”

Importance of Solvent Evaporation Temperature in Pre-Annealing Stage for Solution-Processed Zinc Tin Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

“…However, because In is an expensive rare metal, new materials must be introduced to reduce the cost of oxide semiconductor applications [8]. Zinc tin oxide (ZTO), which is a promising material for indium-free AOSs, has recently been actively studied [9]. However, more studies are required for commercialization compared to those of indium-based oxide semiconductors.…”