Essential Macleod Program (EMP) simulated fabrication of high quality Zn:SnO2/Ag/Zn:SnO2 multilayer transparent conducting electrode on flexible substrates

In the quest of promising Indium free amorphous transparent conducting oxide (TCO), Zn-doped SnO2/Ag/Zn-doped SnO2 (OMO) multilayer films were prepared on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates by RF sputtering at room temperature (RT). Growth parameters were optimized by varying sputtering power and working pressure, to have high electrical conductivity and optical transmittance. Optimization of the thickness of each layer was done by Essential Macleod Program (EMP) simulation to get the higher transmission through OMO multilayer. The sheet resistance and transmittance of 3 at% Zn-doped SnO2 thin film (30 nm) were 2.23 kΩ/□, (ρ ~ 8.92×10−3 Ω∙cm) and 81.3% (at λ ~ 550 nm), respectively. By using optimized thicknesses of Zn-doped SnO2 (30 nm) and Ag (12 nm) and optimized growth condition Zn-doped SnO2/Ag/Zn-doped SnO2 multilayer thin films were deposited. The low sheet resistance of 7.2 Ω/□ and high optical transmittance of 85.1% in the 550 nm wavelength region was achieved with 72 nm multilayer film.