Transparent conductive Sb-doped SnO2/Ag multilayer films fabricated by magnetron sputtering for flexible electronics

The effects of an embedded silver layer and substrate temperature on the electrical and optical properties of Sb-doped SnO2 (ATO)/silver (Ag) layered composite structures on polyethylene naphthalate substrates have been investigated. The highest conductivity of ATO/Ag multilayer films was obtained with a carrier concentration of 1.5 × 1022 cm−3 and a resistivity of 2.4 × 10−5 Ω cm at the optimum Ag layer thickness and substrate temperature. The photopic averaged transmittance and Haacke figure of merit are 81.7%, and 21.7 × 10−3 Ω−1, respectively. In addition, a conduction mechanism is proposed to elucidate the mobility variation with increased Ag thickness. We also describe the influence of substrate temperature on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the ATO/Ag multilayer films, and propose a mechanism for the changes in electrical and optical properties at different substrate temperatures.