Characterizing the electrical and optical properties of AZO/AgPd/AZO multilayer film using RF magnetron sputtering

•AZO/AgPd/AZO films resulted in best transmittance of 90% and low resistivity of 8.28 × 10−4 Ω cm.•An increase in working pressure increased resistivity and decreased transmittance.•Relationship between the transmittance/resistance and RF power is non-linear.•AgPd layer largely determined the optical and electrical properties of the AZO/AgPd/AZO films.

In this study, radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering was used to investigate the effects of process parameters on the electrical and optical properties of AZO(ZnO:Al) and AgPd multilayer films on type 1737F Corning glass. Experiments were performed using RF power and working pressure as variable parameters. The best transmittance (90%) and lowest resistivity (8.28 × 10−4 Ω cm) were obtained from multilayer films of AZO/AgPd/AZO, in which the AgPd was deposited using RF power of 150 W without substrate heating to thicknesses of AZO(50 nm)/AgPd(5 nm)/AZO(50 nm). An increase in working pressure led to an increase in resistivity and a decrease in transmittance, due to an increase in the number of defects in the AgPd layer, which produced a discontinuous interface between the AgPd and AZO. The relationship between transmittance/resistance and RF power is non-linear. The inner AgPd metal layer largely determines the optical quality and electrical resistivity of AZO/AgPd/AZO multilayer films.