Improved TCO materials for the next generation transparent electronics and their complex investigation by wide range ellipsometry from UV to Mid IR

PN-II-ID-PCE-2011-3-0446 , contract : 12/5.10.2011

Transparent conductive oxides (TCO) are materials that exhibit electrical conductivity and high optical transparency together with a wide band-gap. The traditional applications of these materials are flat-panel displays, light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and imaging sensors.

The aim of this project is the preparation by low-cost sol-gel methods of improved TCO (ITO, ZnO) and of new generation of TCO (Nb or V doped TiO₂, SrCu₂O₂) n and p type films with various morphologies on different substrates (silicon, glass and plastics), having a very stable surface.

A complete optical and microstructural characterization of the TCO samples will be performed by ellipsometry in a wide spectral range, from UV to Mid-IR (our IR ellipsometer being the only one available in Romania) and the results will be corroborated with those obtained by complementary methods (UV-VIS, IR and Raman spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, AFM, SEM, TEM, electrical measurements).

A database for optical constants of the TCO investigated materials in the IR range (2-33µm), which for the moment is lacking in the literature, will be provided.

In the frame of this project the best films obtained will be used in specific tests for solar-cell application.