Improving optical and electrical stabilities of fluorine-doped tin oxide films in sweat solutions with O2 addition in plasma

Recently, the use of wearable smart devices has significantly increased; however, sweat can corrode the outer-layer films, thereby decreasing their transmittance, conductivity, and overall functionality. In this study, fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) films for wearable smart devices were prepared via magnetron sputtering. The effects and mechanism of O-2 gas flow in plasma on the properties of the fabricated films were investigated. Minor changes were observed in the film morphologies, with the preferred orientations shifting from polar (101) to nonpolar (110) and standard positions. As the O-2 flow rate increased from 0 to 2 sccm, the transmittance of the film within the visible spectrum increased from 83% to 89%, with sheet resistance values in the order of 10(2)-10(6) Omega sq(-1). Following immersion in an acidic sweat solution, the film without O-2 peeled off, whereas several corrosion pits were observed in the films with 1 or 2 sccm O-2. Conversely, following immersion in an alkaline sweat solution, several pits were observed in the films without O-2, while the other films exhibited excellent corrosion resistance. The transmittance of the films immersed in different solutions did not significantly differ. Notably, the sheet resistances of the films treated with 1 sccm O-2 met the industrial requirement of 3000 Omega. Moreover, the coexistence of polar and nonpolar planes provided transparency and conductive stability to the FTO films treated with 1 sccm O-2. Our study aimed to not only enhance the transmittance and sweat-corrosion resistance but maintain the conductivity of the outer screen layer of a wearable smart electronic device.