Study of the electrical enhancement of direct-patternable Ag-nanostructures embedded SnO2 thin films prepared by photochemical metal-organic deposition

Abstract

In this study, we characterized the optical and electric properties of direct-patternable SnO2 films with embedded Ag nanorods/nanowires prepared by photochemical metal-organic deposition using photosensitive precursors. SnO2 films showed a random orientation of growth independent on the presence of Ag nanorods/nanowires and annealing temperature. The values for sheet resistance and average transmittance of the SnO2 films with and without Ag nanorods/nanowires after annealing at 600 degrees C were 6 k Omega/square and 82.2%, and 418 k Omega/square and 87.2%, respectively. Due to the incorporation of Ag nanorods/nanowires into the SnO2 films, the sheet resistance was remarkably improved, but the optical transmittance was slightly decreased. These results and the direct-patternability of photochemical deposition suggest that SnO2 films with embedded Ag nanorods/nanowires could easily be used in transparent electrodes, eliminating the need for high cost processes such as dry etching.