Influence Of Inorganic Buffer Layer On The Photoelectric Properties And Bending Resistance Of Flexible AZO Films

In this article,AZO thin films were deposited on flexible PET by intermediate frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature,using TiO2,SnO2 and ZnO as buffer layers.The effects of buffer layers on the structure,photoelectric properties and bending properties of flexible AZO films were investigated.The surface morphology,crystal structure composition and surface element of different AZO films were measured and analyzed by SEM,XRD,EDS and XPS.The results show that the crystallization quality of AZO films can be improved by adding inorganic buffer layers,among which SnO2 and ZnO buffer layers are the best,the buffer layer reduces the oxygen excess of the elements on the surface of the film.The effects of different buffer layers under different sputtering ratio of argon and oxygen or sputtering time on the properties of the films were studied by analyzing Hall properties and ultraviolet-visible absorption characteristics,and the optimized parameters were obtained.The results show that all three buffer layers can effectively improve the electrical properties of flexible AZO thin films,and the inorganic buffer layer is unique in improving the optical and electrical properties of the film.The optical and electrical properties of flexible AZO films grown on SnO2 buffer layers at 5:1 Ar/O2 ratio and 400nm thickness are most remarkable.The resistivity of the films decreases greatly and the average transmittance in visible region exceeds 85%.The photoelectric properties of AZO thin films with buffer layers under bending stress were studied.It is found that SnO2 and ZnO buffer layers have the best effect on improving the electrical properties of AZO films when the films bend inward,regardless of the bending radius or bending cycles.The relative increment of resistivity is less than 8%,which is much smaller than the resistivity increment when there is no buffer layer.When the films bend outward,SnO2 buffer layers had the best effect on improving the electrical properties under bending radius,and TiO2 buffer layers had the best effect on improving the electrical properties under bending cycles.The relative increment of resistance is less than 6%.