AZO/Au/AZO tri-layer thin films for the very low resistivity transparent electrode applications

Aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO)/gold/AZO tri-layer structures with very low resistivity and high transmittance are prepared by simultaneous RF magnetron sputtering (for AZO) and ion sputtering (for Au). The properties of the tri-layer films are investigated at different Au layer thicknesses (5-20 nm). The effects of Au layer thickness and the role of Au on the transmission properties of the tri-layer films were investigated. The very low resistivity of 1.01 x 10(-5)Omega cm, mobility of 27.665 cm(2)V(-1)s(-1), and carrier concentration of 4.563 x 10(22)cm(-3) were obtained at an Au layer thickness of 20 nm. The peak transmittance of 86.18% at 650-nm wavelength was obtained at an Au layer thickness of 8 nm. These results show the films to be a good candidate for high-quality electrode scheme in various display applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.