Korean Journal of Materials Research ISSN:1225-0562(Print) 2287-7258(Online) 한국재료학회지

Transparent and conducting SnO₂ and SnO₂/Ag/SnO₂ (SAS) films were deposited on glass substrates by magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The effect of the SnO₂ target power and Ag interlayer on the visible transmittance and electrical properties of the film was considered. Although all the SnO₂ films had an amorphous structure under all sputtering power conditions, SnO₂ films deposited at a target power of 60 W showed a lower resistivity of 2.25 Ω cm and a lower surface roughness of 1.4 nm. The average visible transmittance also varied with target power conditions. The average visible transmittance increased from 73.7 % (40 W) to 76.3 % (60 W) and then decreased to 73.2 % (80 W). When all films were compared, it was found that the SnO₂ films deposited at 60 W had a higher figure of merit of 2.98 × 10^-7 Ω^-1. In addition, the SnO₂ films with a Ag 10 nm interlayer showed a lower resistivity of 4.28 × 10^-5 Ω cm and a visible transmittance of 70.58 %. The Ag interlayer in the SnO₂ films increased the figure of merit to 7.88 × 10^-3 without substrate heating or post-deposition annealing. The observed results confirm that the optical and electrical properties of SnO₂ films can be enhanced by optimizing the sputtering target power condition and the thickness of the Ag interlayer, respectively.