Advanced superimposed sputtering of amorphous Indium Zinc Oxide transparent conductors for Energy applications

In this work, we investigate the use of RF, DC, and mixed RF/DC magnetron sputtering and its effect on the optoelectronic properties of amorphous Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO) films sputtered from an 87/13 wt% ceramic target. The effect of oxygen concentration in the sputter gas is examined at several RF/DC power ratios and a variety of total powers to help optimize conductivity. We find that higher conductivities can be achieved at 50% of the typical DC sputtering oxygen concentration when duplicated via mixed RF/DC sputtering. By combining the two, mixed RF/DC sputtering allows for the high deposition rates of typical DC sputter deposition, while obtaining the greater conductivities and transparencies assisted by RF sputtering.