the choice of material.

In the following, we

Criteria for Choosing first summarize the methods for prepar-

ing TCs. Then, we consider the various
materials properties that can be important
in choosing a TC. Finally, we show how
these methods and properties lead to

Transparent choices of different TCs that are best for

different applications.

Processes Used in Making

Conductors Transparent Conducting Materials
The properties of a TC layer depend
not only on its chemical composition, but
also on the method used for its prepara-
Roy G. Gordon tion. These preparative methods include
physical methods (sputtering, evapora-
tion, pulsed laser deposition) and chemi-
cal methods (chemical vapor deposition,
Introduction sol-gel, chemical bath deposition, electro-
Transparent, electrically conductive films xerographic copiers. Glass touch-control plating). Some of the innovations in these
have been prepared from a wide variety of panels are etched from TC layers. TCs can deposition methods are listed in Table I.
materials. These include semiconducting also be formed into transparent electro- Spray pyrolysis was first used commer-
oxides of tin, indium, zinc, and cadmium, magnetic shields, invisible security circuits cially more than half a century ago to de-
and metals such as silver, gold, and titanium on windows, and transparent radio anten- posit conductive tin oxide films on heated
nitride. In this article, the physical proper- nas built into automobile windows. glass plates in batch processes. Since the
ties of these materials are reviewed and It might appear reasonable to ask which 1980s, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has
compared. transparent conducting material is the best. been widely adopted in the continuous
A figure of merit for a transparent con- However, this question does not have a production of glass coated with fluorine-
ductor may be defined as the ratio of the unique answer, since different TCs are doped tin oxide.23 By far the majority of TC
electrical conductivity to the optical ab- best suited for different applications. Also, films are currently produced in this way.
sorption coefficient of the film. The mate- a given application may constrain the Most of this material is used for energy-
rials having the highest figures of merit method of preparation and thereby affect conserving “low-e” windows in buildings,
are fluorine-doped zinc oxide and cad-
mium stannate. Physical, chemical, and
thermal durability; etchability; conduc- Table I: History of Processes for Making Transparent Conductors.
tivity; plasma wavelength; work function;
thickness; deposition temperature; uni- Materials and Process Reference
formity; toxicity; and cost are other factors
Ag by chemical-bath deposition Unknown Venetian
that may also influence the choice of
SnO2Sb by spray pyrolysis J.M. Mochel (Corning), 19471
transparent conducting material for any
particular application. SnO2Cl by spray pyrolysis H.A. McMaster (Libbey-Owens-Ford), 19472
SnO2F by spray pyrolysis W.O. Lytle and A.E. Junge (PPG), 19513
In2O3Sn by spray pyrolysis J.M. Mochel (Corning), 19514
Some Applications of
In2O3Sn by sputtering L. Holland and G. Siddall, 19555
Transparent Conductors
SnO2Sb by CVD H.F. Dates and J.K. Davis (Corning), 19676
Transparent conductors (TCs) have a
wide variety of uses. Their ability to reflect Cd2SnO4 by sputtering A.J. Nozik (American Cyanamid), 19747
thermal infrared heat is exploited to make Cd2SnO4 by spray pyrolysis A.J. Nozik and G. Haacke (American Cyanamid), 19768
energy-conserving windows. These low- SnO2F by CVD R.G. Gordon (Harvard), 19799
emissivity (“low-e”) windows are the TiN by CVD S.R. Kurtz and R.G. Gordon (Harvard), 198610
largest area of current use for TCs. Oven ZnOIn by spray pyrolysis S. Major et al. (Ind. Inst. Tech.), 198411
windows employ TCs to conserve energy ZnOAl by sputtering T. Minami et al. (Kanazawa),198412
and to maintain an outside temperature ZnOIn by sputtering S.N. Qiu et al. (McGill), 198713
that makes them safe to touch. The electri- ZnOB by CVD P.S. Vijayakumar et al. (Arco Solar), 198814
cal conductivity of TCs is exploited in
ZnOGa by sputtering B.H. Choi et al. (KAIST), 199015
front-surface electrodes for solar cells and
ZnOF by CVD J. Hu and R.G. Gordon (Harvard), 199116
flat-panel displays (FPDs). Automatically
dimming rear-view mirrors for automobiles ZnOAl by CVD J. Hu and R.G. Gordon (Harvard), 199217
and electrically controlled “smart” windows ZnOGa by CVD J. Hu and R.G. Gordon (Harvard), 199218
incorporate a pair of TCs with an electro- ZnOIn by CVD J. Hu and R.G. Gordon (Harvard), 199319
chromic (EC) material between them. Zn2SnO4 by sputtering H. Enoki et al. (Tohoku), 199220
Electric current is passed through TCs to ZnSnO3 by sputtering T. Minami et al. (Kanazawa), 199421
defrost windows in vehicles and to keep Cd2SnO4 by pulsed laser deposition J.M. McGraw et al. (Colorado School of Mines and
freezer display cases frost-free. TCs dissi- NREL), 199522
pate static electricity from the windows on

52 MRS BULLETIN/AUGUST 2000

 Criteria for Choosing Transparent Conductors

with smaller amounts going into thin-film

photovoltaics and other applications men- Table II: Figures of Merit  / for Some Transparent Conductors.
tioned in the first section.
Visible
Although indium tin oxide (In2O3Sn,
ITO) was first made by spray pyrolysis, Absorption
sputtering has become the preferred mode Sheet Resistance Coefficient Figure of Merit
for its production. ITO is mainly used Material (/)  (1)
in FPDs. ZnOF 5 0.03 7
Conductive zinc oxide films have been Cd2SnO4 7.2 0.02 7
investigated more recently. One application ZnOAl 3.8 0.05 5
in which zinc oxide is used is in photo- In2O3Sn 6 0.04 4
voltaics. Because of its potential lower cost
SnO2F 8 0.04 3
and easier etchability, zinc oxide may re-
place ITO in display applications. ZnOGa 3 0.12 3
ZnOB 8 0.06 2
SnO2Sb 20 0.12 0.4
Materials Properties Relevant
ZnOIn 20 0.20 0.2
to Transparent Conductors
A number of physical and chemical
properties are related to the performance
of a TC in any given application. needed for low-resistance applications The electron mobility is determined
such as solar cells. by the electron-scattering mechanisms
Optical and Electrical Performance The results in Table II show that fluorine that operate in the material. First of all,
of Transparent Conductors doping gives superior performance com- some scattering mechanisms, such as scat-
An effective TC should have high elec- pared with metallic dopants, in both zinc tering of electrons by phonons, are present
trical conductivity combined with low ab- oxide and tin oxide. A theoretical under- in pure single crystals. In tin oxide29 and
sorption of visible light. Thus an appropriate standing of this advantage of fluorine can zinc oxide,31 these scattering mechanisms
quantitative measure of the performance be obtained by considering that the con- lead to mobilities of about 250 cm2 V1 s1
of TCs is the ratio of the electrical conduc- duction band of oxide semiconductors is at low doping levels, typically around
tivity  to the visible absorption coeffi- derived mainly from metal orbitals. If a 1016 cm3. Practical TCs need much higher
cient , metal dopant is used, it is electrically ac- doping levels, usually
1020 cm3, in
tive when it substitutes for the primary order to operate at reasonable thicknesses.
  Rs lnT  R1 (1) metal (such as zinc or tin). The conduction For these high doping levels, scattering by
band thus receives a strong perturbation the ionized dopant atoms becomes an-
in which Rs is the sheet resistance in ohms from each metal dopant, the scattering of other important mechanism that alone
per square, T is the total visible transmis- conduction electrons is enhanced, and the limits the mobility to less than about
sion, and R is the total visible reflectance. mobility and conductivity are decreased. In 90 cm2 V1 s1.33 In the presence of both
Thus / is a figure of merit for rating contrast, when fluorine substitutes for oxy- these scattering mechanisms, the mobility
TCs.24 A larger value of / indicates bet- gen, the electronic perturbation is largely is limited to the value (2501  901)1 
ter performance of the TC. confined to the filled valence band, and 66 cm2 V1 s1. This maximum mobility is
Figures of merit for some TCs are given the scattering of conduction electrons is lowered still further by other scattering
in Table II. The values given are for the minimized. mechanisms such as grain-boundary scat-
best samples that we have prepared in our A theoretical upper limit to the figure of tering, present in polycrystalline thin
laboratory by CVD at atmospheric pressure, merit may be estimated from the transport films. The best TC films, ZnOF and
except for the indium oxide value, which theory of electrons in metals27 given by Cd2SnO4, have been prepared with mobili-
is the best that we have measured for a ties in the range of 50–60 cm2 V1 s1,
commercially available film, and the cad-   4 20c3nm*22e2, (2) closely approaching the theoretical upper
mium stannate values, which we have taken limit.
from the literature.25 where 0 is the permittivity of free space,
The results in Table II show that fluorine- c is the speed of light in vacuum, n is the Electrical Conductivity
doped zinc oxide and cadmium stannate refractive index of the film, m* is the effec- In some applications of TCs, it is critical
have the best figures of merit of these TCs. tive mass of the conduction electrons,  is that the TC be as thin as possible. For ex-
If the electrical and optical properties of a the mobility,  is a visible wavelength of ample, in high-resolution displays, the re-
TC were independent of film thickness, light, and e is the electronic charge. The re- quired etched patterns in the TC create
then the figure of merit / would not de- fractive index of TCs is close to 2.0 in the height variations in the device. To keep the
pend on film thickness, unlike other figures visible region, thus the highest figure of topography as smooth as possible, the thin-
of merit that have been proposed.26 In fact, merit will be obtained from the material nest possible TC is desired. In this case,
“bulk” properties of TCs, such as  and , with the highest product of mobility and the important material parameter is the
do depend somewhat on film thickness. effective mass. For zinc oxide,28 tin oxide,29 conductivity . The conductivity increases
For example, they depend on crystallite and cadmium stannate,30 m* is close to 0.3 m, with the product of the concentration of
grain size, which usually increases with film where m is the free-electron mass. Thus free electrons and the mobility. For metals
thickness. The figure of merit therefore most of the variation in the figure of merit such as silver and titanium nitride, the free-
generally increases with film thickness. The is due to differences in mobility. Note that electron concentration is fixed by the
film thicknesses of the samples reported in the free-electron concentration does not structure and electronic properties of the
Table II were chosen to be typical of those enter into the figure of merit. solid. For wide-bandgap semiconductors,

MRS BULLETIN/AUGUST 2000 53

 Criteria for Choosing Transparent Conductors

the free-electron concentration is deter-

mined by the maximum number of elec- Table III: Approximate Minimum Resistivities and Plasma Wavelengths for
tronically active dopant atoms that can be Some Transparent Conductors.
placed in the lattice. Attempts to place a
larger number of dopant atoms in the lat- Resistivity Plasma Wavelength
tice simply produce neutral defects that Material ( cm) (m)
decrease the mobility. The maximum ob- Ag 1.6 0.4
tainable electron concentration and the TiN 20 0.7
maximum conductivity in TCs generally are In2O3Sn 100
1.0
found to increase in the following order: Cd2SnO4 130
1.3
ZnOF  SnO2F  ZnOAl  In2O3Sn  ZnOAl 150
1.3
TiN  Ag.
SnO2F 200
1.6
Plasma Frequency ZnOF 400
2.0
The plasma frequency for the conduc-
tion electrons in a TC divides the optical
properties. At frequencies higher than the
plasma frequency, the electrons cannot re-
spond, and the material behaves as a trans- Table IV: Work Functions of Some Transparent Conductors.
parent dielectric. At frequencies below the
plasma frequency, the TC reflects and ab- Work Function Electron Concentration
sorbs incident radiation. For most TC ma- Material (eV) (cm3)
terials, the plasma frequency falls in the ZnOF 4.2 2 1020
near-infrared part of the spectrum, and
ZnO 4.5 7 1019
the visible region is in the higher, trans-
parent frequency range. The plasma fre- In2O3Sn 4.8
1020
quency increases approximately with the SnO2F 4.9 4 1020
square root of the conduction-electron ZnSnO3 5.3 6 1019
concentration. The maximum obtainable
electron concentration and the plasma fre- Taken from Reference 33.
quency of TCs generally increase in the
same order as the resistivity, as shown in
Table III. The corresponding plasma wave-
lengths decrease from about 2 m for
ZnOF to 0.7 m (red light) for TiN Table V: Thermal Stability of Some Transparent Conductors.
(Table III).
Deposition Stability
Work Function Temperature Temperature
The work function of a TC is defined as Material (C) (C)
the minimum energy required to remove LPCVD ZnOB 200 250
an electron from the conduction band to APCVD ZnOF 450 500
the vacuum. Some work functions meas- APCVD SnO2F 650 700
ured for TCs are collected in Table IV.

Thermal Stability of
Transparent Conductors
TCs will generally increase in resistance Cadmium stannate is deposited by sput- Diffusion Barriers between
if heated to a high enough temperature for tering at low temperatures in amorphous Transparent Conductors
a long enough time. For example, some of form. When annealed at high tempera- and Sodium-Containing
the TCs were tested in my laboratory by tures, it crystallizes into a crystalline form Glass Substrates
heating them in air for 10 min at succes- that is stable up to at least 1100C.34 When TCs are deposited on sodium-
sively higher temperatures. Table V gives, containing glass, such as soda-lime glass,
as “stability temperatures,” the tempera- Minimum Deposition Temperature sodium can diffuse into the TC and increase
ture range within which no increase of When TCs are deposited onto a substrate, its resistance. This effect is particularly

10% in sheet resistance was noted. the temperature of the substrate generally noticeable for tin oxide, because sodium
In each case, the TC remained stable must be maintained at a sufficiently high diffuses rapidly at the high substrate tem-
to temperatures slightly above the opti- temperature in order to develop the re- peratures (often
550C) used for its depo-
mized deposition temperature. The high- quired properties in the TC. The required sition. It is common to deposit a barrier
temperature stability of tin oxide films temperatures usually increase in the fol- layer on the glass prior to the deposition
allows coated glass to be reheated in order lowing order: Ag or ITO  ZnO  SnO2  of tin oxide. Silica is most commonly used
to strengthen it by tempering. The thermal Cd2SnO4. Thus, silver or ITO may be pre- as the barrier layer between soda-lime glass
stability of tin oxide films is currently ferred for deposition on thermally sensitive and tin oxide, even though silica is only
limited more by the softening of glass sub- substrates, such as plastic, while cadmium partially effective in blocking the transport
strates than by any thermal decomposition stannate requires very refractory substrates of sodium. The silica layer usually serves a
of the SnO2F film. to develop its best properties. second purpose, that of eliminating the in-

54 MRS BULLETIN/AUGUST 2000

 Criteria for Choosing Transparent Conductors

terference colors that would otherwise be rates and have been scaled up to large areas.
shown by the TC film.35 Alumina is a much Table VI: Etchants for Transparent Low-pressure CVD has higher equipment
more complete barrier against diffusion of Conductors. costs than atmospheric-pressure CVD. Sol-
sodium.36 gel suffers from slow drying and reheating
Material Etchant steps, while pulsed laser deposition is only
Etching Patterns in TCs ZnO Dilute acids suitable for small areas. This ranking can
For some applications of TCs, such as ZnO Ammonium chloride give only a rough comparison of production
displays, heaters, or antennas, parts of the TiN H2O2  NH3 costs because many other factors enter into
TC must be removed. Table VI lists some In2O3 HCl  HNO3 or FeCl3 a full economic analysis, including the pro-
chemicals that can be used to etch TCs. SnO2 Zn  HCl duction volume and the tolerances for varia-
Zinc oxide is the easiest material to etch, SnO2 CrCl2
tions in the properties of the product.
tin oxide is the most difficult, and indium
oxide is intermediate in etching difficulty. Toxicity
Series-connected thin-film solar cells also Some of the elements used in TCs are
need to remove TCs along patterns of lines. toxic. This increases the cost of processing
This removal is usually carried out by laser Table VII: Hardness of Some them because of the need to protect work-
ablation. Transparent Conductors. ers and prevent the escape of toxic ma-
terials into the environment. Additional
Material Mohs Hardness
Chemical Durability encapsulation during use may be needed,
The ability of a TC to withstand corrosive TiN 9 as well as a provision for recycling at the
chemical environments is inversely related SnO2 6.5 end of the product’s lifetime. Toxicity of
to its ease of etching. Tin oxide is the most Soda-lime glass 6 the elements generally increases in the fol-
resistant, while zinc oxide is readily attacked In2O3 5 lowing order: Zn  Sn  In  Ag  Cd.
by acids or bases. Silver is tarnished by air ZnO 4 Cadmium compounds are carcinogens
and moisture and can be used only in ap- Ag low and thus are heavily regulated and even
plications that are hermetically sealed. prohibited from some applications.

Stability in Hydrogen Plasmas low to allow economic extraction only for Choice of Transparent
In forming amorphous-silicon solar cells the value of the indium. Thus the supply Conducting Oxides
on TC superstrates, the TC is exposed to a of indium cannot be increased significantly It is apparent from the diversity of ap-
plasma containing hydrogen atoms. These without a large increase in price sufficient plications for TCs that no one material is
plasma conditions rather easily reduce tin to make “indium mines” profitable. most suitable for all uses. Depending on
oxide, causing an increase in the optical ab- The costs of the deposition methods which material property is of most impor-
sorption by the tin oxide. Zinc oxide is much typically increase in the following order: tance, different choices are made. Table VIII
more resistant to hydrogen-plasma reduc- atmospheric-pressure CVD  vacuum summarizes some of the most important
tion and may be preferred for applications evaporation  magnetron sputtering  criteria that may influence the choice of a
such as amorphous-silicon solar cells.37 low-pressure CVD  sol-gel  pulsed laser transparent conducting material.
deposition. This ranking was estimated by
Mechanical Hardness of TCs considering the lowest-cost product made Examples of Applications and
The mechanical durability of TCs is re- by each process. The speed of the process the TCs Chosen for Them
lated to the hardness of the crystals from is very important in the cost. Atmospheric- We will now see how these criteria apply
which they are formed. Their hardness val- pressure CVD, vacuum evaporation, and to a number of applications in which TCs
ues may be ranked using the Mohs scale, magnetron sputtering have high deposition are used.
in which higher values represent harder
materials.38 Table VII shows that titanium
nitride and tin oxide are even harder than
glass and can be used in applications that Table VIII: Choice of Transparent Conductors.
are exposed to contact. Zinc oxide is readily
scratched, but can be handled with care. Property Material
Thin silver films are so fragile that they Highest transparency ZnO:F, Cd2SnO4
cannot be touched and can be used only Highest conductivity In2O3Sn
when coated with protective layers. Lowest plasma frequency SnO2F, ZnOF
Highest plasma frequency Ag, TiN, In2O3Sn
Production Costs Highest work function, best contact to p-Si SnO2F, ZnSnO3
The costs of producing a transparent Lowest work function, best contact to n-Si ZnOF
conducting material depend on the cost
Best thermal stability SnO2F, TiN, Cd2SnO4
of the raw materials and the processing
of it into a thin layer. The cost of the raw Best mechanical durability TiN, SnO2F
materials generally increases in this order: Best chemical durability SnO2F
Cd  Zn  Ti  Sn  Ag  In. Indium is Easiest to etch ZnOF, TiN
a rare and expensive element that is ob- Best resistance to H plasmas ZnOF
tained as a byproduct of the mining of ores Lowest deposition temperature In2O3Sn, ZnOB, Ag
for their content of other metals such as zinc Least toxic ZnOF, SnO2F
and lead. There are no “indium mines” be- Lowest cost SnO2F
cause its concentration in minerals is too

MRS BULLETIN/AUGUST 2000 55

 Criteria for Choosing Transparent Conductors

Low-Emissivity Windows in Buildings also a factor for color displays in which which also serves as the electrical resistor
TCs on window glass improve the en- the TC is deposited over thermally sensi- for heating the oven.
ergy efficiency of the window because the tive organic dyes. Low resistance is another
free electrons reflect infrared radiation for factor favoring ITO in very finely patterned Static Dissipation
wavelengths longer than the plasma wave- displays, since the ITO layer can be made TCs are placed on glass to dissipate
length. The effect is similar to that of the very thin, thus the etched topography re- static charges that can develop on xero-
silver coating in a Thermos bottle. In cold mains fairly smooth. ZnO is lower in cost graphic copiers, television tubes, and CRT
climates, the plasma wavelength should and easier to etch than ITO is, so ZnO may computer displays. Only relatively high
be fairly long, about 2 m, so that most of replace ITO in some future displays. resistances (1 k/) are needed, so the
the solar spectrum is transmitted into heat main concern is mechanical and chemical
inside the building. Fluorine-doped tin Electrochromic Mirrors and Windows durability. Tin oxide is the material of choice
oxide is the best material for this purpose Automatically dimming rear-view mir- for these applications.
because it combines a suitable plasma rors are now installed in millions of auto-
wavelength with excellent durability and mobiles. They include a pair of SnO2 Touch-Panel Controls
low cost. Billions of square feet of TC- F-coated electrodes with an electrochemi- Touch-sensitive control panels, such as
coated window glass have been installed cally active organic gel between them. The those found on appliances, elevator con-
in buildings around the world. main considerations are chemical inertness, trols, and ATM screens, are formed from
In hot climates, a short plasma wave- high transparency, and low cost. “Smart” etched TCs on glass. They sense the pres-
length, 1 m, is desirable, so that the windows with electrically controllable ence of a finger either by direct contact or
near-infrared portion of incident sunlight transmission are just entering the market- capacitively through the glass. The dura-
can be reflected out of the building. The place. Tin oxide appears to be the material bility and low cost of tin oxide make it a
metals silver and titanium nitride have of choice, for the same reasons that it is good choice for these applications.
sufficiently short plasma wavelengths for chosen for electrochromic mirrors.
this application. Silver is widely used for Electromagnetic Shielding
this application despite its poor durability; It is apparently possible to eavesdrop
it is sealed inside double-glazed panes for Defrosting Windows on computers and communications by de-
protection from air and moisture. Titanium Freezers in supermarkets pass electric tecting electromagnetic signals passing
nitride is much more durable and can be current through TCs on their display win- through windows. These stray signals can
used on exposed surfaces, even on single- dows in order to prevent moisture in the be blocked by TCs with low sheet resis-
glazed windows. The reflective gold color air from condensing on them and obscur- tance. Silver and ITO are the best materials
of TiN-coated glass can frequently be seen ing the view. Low cost and durability are for this purpose.
on large office buildings, but it is not popu- the main factors that have led to the choice
lar for residential windows. of tin oxide for this application. Invisible Security Circuits
Defrosting windows in airplanes was TC-coated glass can be used as part of
Solar Cells the first application of TCs, permitting high- invisible security circuits for windows or
The front surfaces of solar cells are cov- altitude bombing during World War II. The on glass over valuable works of art. Some
ered by transparent electrodes. In single- discovery of TCs was kept secret until after protection from fading by UV light is also
crystal silicon cells, a highly doped layer the war. Originally tin oxide was used, but provided by the TC. Any TC (except for
of the silicon itself serves as the front elec- now ITO has replaced it in modern cock- colored TiN) could be used. Silver/ZnO
trode. In thin-film cells, a TC layer serves pits because its lower resistance permits multilayers provide the best UV protection.
as the front electrode. Cadmium telluride defrosting larger window areas with rela-
and some amorphous-silicon solar cells tively low voltage (24 V). Some automobile Improving the Durability of Glass
are grown on a SnO2F-covered glass super- windshields use silver or silver-copper Some tin oxide coatings are used solely
strate. Thermal stability and low cost are alloy TCs for electrical defrosting because to take advantage of tin oxide’s extraordi-
the primary factors in this choice. The high the 12-V systems in automobiles require nary durability and have nothing to do
work function of SnO2F is also helpful in very low resistance, combined with the with its electrical conductivity. Tin oxide
making low-resistance electrical contact to legal requirement of a minimum transmis- coatings are used on the windows of bar-
the p-type amorphous-silicon layer. Other sion of 70%. The metal layers are protected code readers to improve their abrasion re-
amorphous-silicon cells are grown on flexi- in the windshield by laminating them be- sistance. Hydrofluoric acid etches glass,
ble steel or plastic substrates; in this case, tween two sheets of glass. but does not affect tin oxide. Some vandals
the top TC must be deposited at low tem- have used hydrogen-fluoride etching kits
perature on thermally sensitive cells. ITO Oven Windows (designed to etch identifying marks on auto-
or ZnO is chosen for this purpose because Tin oxide coatings are placed on oven mobile windows) to etch slogans on win-
both compounds can be deposited suc- windows to improve their safety by low- dows. Tin oxide coatings are used to protect
cessfully at low temperatures (typically ering the outside temperature of the glass windows from these attacks.
200C). to safe levels. This permits the use of win-
dows even in self-cleaning ovens that reach Conclusions
Flat-Panel Displays very high temperatures. The tin oxide coat- Transparent conductors have many
The many different styles of FPDs all ing also improves the energy efficiency of applications. There is no one TC that is
use TCs as a front electrode. Etchability is the ovens. The main criteria for this choice best for all applications. Fluorine-doped
a very important consideration in forming of material are high temperature stability, tin oxide is the most widely used TC, while
patterns in the TC electrode. The easier chemical and mechanical durability, and tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) remains pre-
etchability of ITO has favored its use over low cost. ferred for flat-panel displays. Zinc oxide
tin oxide, which is more difficult to etch. Some transparent laboratory ovens are has potential for use in more efficient and
The low deposition temperature of ITO is constructed entirely of TC-coated glass, less expensive solar cells. All of these com-

56 MRS BULLETIN/AUGUST 2000

 Criteria for Choosing Transparent Conductors

monly used transparent conducting mate- 17. J. Hu and R.G. Gordon, J. Appl. Phys. 71 lar expression was proposed by V.K. Jain and
rials and their production methods have (1992) p. 880. A.P. Kulshreshtha, Sol. Energy Mater. 4 (1981)
advantages and disadvantages that must 18. J. Hu and R.G. Gordon, J. Appl. Phys. 72 p. 151, without taking into account the reflection.
be carefully weighed for each new appli- (1992) p. 5381. 25. T.J. Coutts, X. Wu, W.P. Mulligan, and J.M.
19. J. Hu and R.G. Gordon, in Microcrystalline Webb, J. Electron. Mater. 25 (1996) p. 935.
cation. The information in this article may Semiconductors: Materials Science & Devices, ed- 26. G. Haacke, J. Appl. Phys. 47 (9) (1976)
help in choosing the most appropriate trans- ited by P.M Fauchet, C.C. Tsai, L.T. Canham, p. 4086.
parent conducting material for a new use. I. Shimizu, and Y. Aoyagi (Mater. Res. Soc. 27. For example, see S. Nudelman and S.S. Mitra,
Symp. Proc. 283, Pittsburgh, 1993) p. 891. Optical Properties of Solids, Chap. 3 (Plenum
Acknowledgments 20. H. Enoki, T. Nakayama, and J. Echigoya, Press, New York, 1969).
This work was supported in part by the Phys. Status Solidi A 129 (1992) p. 181. 28. A.R. Hutson, J. Appl. Phys. 32 (1961) p. 2287.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory 21. T. Minami, H. Sonohara, S. Takata, and H. 29. K.J. Button, C.G. Fonstad, and W. Dreybrodt,
under a subcontract for the U.S. Department Sato, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Part 2: Lett. 33 (1994) Phys. Rev. B 4 (1971) p. 4539.
of Energy. p. L1693. 30. W.P. Mulligan, PhD thesis, Colorado School
22. J.M. McGraw, P.A. Parilla, D.L. Schulz, of Mines, 1997.
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