Preparation of Sol-Gel Derived Powders and Transparent Conductive Thin Films of Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxides by Solvothermal Method(Ii)

Due to excellent electrical conductivity, good visible light transparacy, and high infrared reflectivity, transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films are the most important transparent conducting electrode materials in optoelectronic devices. Currently, the primary TCO thin film materials used in the industry is tin-doped indium oxides (ITO). However, due to some limitations and problems encountered in the production processes and the applications of ITO thin films, there is an urgent need to find new materials to replace ITO. Recently, aluminum-doped zinc oxides (AZO) thin films have been actively studied due to their great potentials as alternative materials to replace ITO. Due to the advantages of high produce rate, consistant high film quality, low deposition temperature, and large area coating capability, sputtering is the main deposition method used in the industry to produce TCO thin films. However, due to the problems of high deposition temperature for plastic substrates and the requirement of lithography and etching to produce circuitry, how to resovle the problems encountered in the sputtering deposition and processing of TCO thin films to meet the future trend of soft plastic panels has become an important issue for both the industry and the academia. . The objectives of this two year research project are to prepare AZO nano-powders, AZO conductive coating solutions, and transparent conductive AZO thin films by combination of sol-gel method and solvothermal method. In addition, the effects of the processing conditions on the characteristics of AZO nano-powders, AZO conductive coating solutions, and AZO thin films will also be investigated.

Project ID:PB10007-7244
External Project ID:NSC100-2221-E182-054