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

ZnO/Cu/ZnO (ZCZ) thin films were deposited at room temperature on a glass substrate using direct current (DC) and radio frequency (RF, 13.56 MHz) magnetron sputtering and then the effect of post-deposition electron irradiation on the structural, optical, electrical and transparent heater properties of the films were considered. ZCZ films that were electron beam irradiated at 500 eV showed an increase in the grain sizes of their ZnO(102) and (201) planes to 15.17 nm and 11.51 nm, respectively, from grain sizes of 13.50 nm and 10.60 nm observed in the as deposited films. In addition, the film’s optical and electrical properties also depended on the electron irradiation energies. The highest opto-electrical performance was observed in films electron irradiated at 500 eV. In a heat radiation test, when a bias voltage of 18 V was applied to the film that had been electron irradiated at 500 eV, its steady state temperature was about 90.5 °C. In a repetition test, it reached the steady state temperature within 60 s at all bias voltages.