Transparent conducting films including complex oxides

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016180982-A1
Application number	US-201514815546-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 31, 2015
Priority date	Aug 1, 2014
Publication date	Jun 23, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Transparent conducting films including an alkaline earth, transition metal oxide and their optimization of electrical conductivity and optical transparency by aliovalent substitution, which are useful as electrodes for semiconductors and other electronic devices are disclosed. Such materials include thin films of an aliovalent substituted transition metal oxides of Formula (I): A 1-x A′ x B 1-y B′ y O 3-d (I) or a transition metal oxide of Formula (II): (ABO 3-d )m(A′B′O 3-d′ )n.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A transparent conducting film comprising a transition metal oxide of formula:
A 1-x A′ x ′B 1-y B′ y O 3-d   (I)
wherein A and A′ are different from each other and A represents one or more divalent alkaline earth cations; A′ represents either one or more trivalent cations or one or more monovalent cations; B and B′ are different from each other and B represents a transition metal selected from group VB; and B′ represents a transition metal from the groups VB, IVB, VIB, IVA and/or group IIIA; d is a value between −0.5≦d≦0.5; and the values for x and y are 0≦x≦1, 0≦y≦1; provided that when y is 0, B is not vanadium.

2 . A transparent conducting film comprising a transition metal oxide of formula:
(ABO 3-d )m(A′B′O 3-d′ )n  (II)

wherein A and A′ are different from each other and A represents one or more divalent alkaline earth cations; A′ represents either one or more trivalent cations or one or more monovalent cations; B and B′ are different from each other and B represents a transition metal selected from group VB; and B′ represents a transition metal from the groups VB, IVB, VIB, IVA and/or group IIIA; d and d′ have values of −0.5≦d≦0.5 and −0.5≦d′≦0.5, respectively, and 1≦m≦10 and 1≦n≦10.

3 . The film according to claim 1 , wherein A′ is present and represents one or more of a trivalent cation of lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, or lutetium to adjust a Fermi level position in a conduction band of the transition metal oxide.

4 . The film according to claim 1 , wherein A′ is present and represents one or more of a monovalent ion of lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium or cesium to adjust a Fermi level position in a conduction band of the transition metal oxide.

5 . The film according to claim 1 , wherein B′ is present and represents one or more group VIB transition metal elements to adjust a Fermi level position in a conduction band of the transition metal oxide.

6 . The film according to claim 1 , wherein B′ is present and represents one or more group IVB transition metal elements, group IIIA elements, or group, IVA elements to adjust a Fermi level position in a conduction band of the transition metal oxide.

7 . The film according to claim 1 , wherein d and/or d′ are within the limits of −0.2≦d≦0.2 and −0.2≦d′≦0.2.

8 . The film according to claim 1 characterized by an electron mobility of about 1˜100 cm 2 /V/sec and/or a carrier density of about 1×10 21 ˜2×10 23 cm −3 , and/or a transmittance of about 80% or more at a wavelength of 550 nm, and/or a thickness in the range of about 5 to 50 nm or higher, and/or an effective mass in the range of about 1 to 10 m 0 and/or conductivity of about 2000 S/cm (resistivity 5×10 −4 Ω×cm) to about 100000 S/cm (resistivity 1×10 −6 Ω×cm) at room temperature.

9 . An electrode material comprising at least one transparent conducting film according to claim 1 .

10 . An electrode comprising the electrode material of claim 9 on a substrate.

11 . The electrode according to claim 10 , wherein the substrate is silicon, germanium, or a compound semiconductor with zinc blende or wurtzite crystal structure, with or without a thin transparent coating.

12 . The electrode according to claim 10 , wherein the substrate is a glass substrate, a plastic substrate, or an oxide deposited substrate, and has transmittance.

13 . A method of forming the film according to claim 1 on a substrate, the method comprising:
providing or supplying in a chamber which houses the substrate a source for each of: (i) A and A′, (ii) B and B′ and (iii) oxygen; and
depositing each of: (i) A and A′, (ii) B and B′ and (iii) oxygen on to the substrate.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the film is formed by physical vapor deposition.

Assignees

• Penn State Res Found

Inventors

• Engel-Herbert Roman
• Zhang Lei

Classifications

• C23C14/22

  characterised by the process of coating · CPC title

• H01B1/08 Primary

  oxides · CPC title

• C01G31/006

  Compounds containing vanadium, with or without oxygen or hydrogen, and containing two or more other elements · CPC title

• C01G31/02

  Oxides · CPC title

• C01P2006/40

  Electric properties · CPC title