UV light emitting transparent conducting tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowires

Multifunctional single crystalline tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowires with tuned Sn doping levels are synthesized via a vapor transport method. The Sn concentration in the nanowires can reach 6.4 at.% at a synthesis temperature of 840?°C, significantly exceeding the Sn solubility in ITO bulks grown at comparable temperatures, which we attribute to the unique feature of the vapor-liquid-solid growth. As a promising transparent conducting oxide nanomaterial, layers of these ITO nanowires exhibit a sheet resistance as low as 6.4 Ω/[Symbol: see text] and measurements on individual nanowires give a resistivity of 2.4 × 10(-4) Ω cm with an electron density up to 2.6 × 10(20) cm(-3), while the optical transmittance in the visible regime can reach ～ 80%. Under the ultraviolet excitation the ITO nanowire samples emit blue light, which can be ascribed to transitions related to defect levels. Furthermore, a room temperature ultraviolet light emission is observed in these ITO nanowires for the first time, and the exciton-related radiative process is identified by using temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements.     

Characteristics of organic light emitting diodes with vanadium oxide solution-treated indium tin oxide

The effect of indium tin oxide (ITO) in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) treated by vanadium penoxide (V2O5) saturation solution was studied. The device with ITO treated by ultraviolet-ozone (UV-ozone) was fabricated in the same run for comparison. It was found that the V2O5 solution-treated devices have much higher current efficiency compared to the device with bare ITO and UV-ozone-treated ITO as the anode. The turn-on voltages were reduced by around 2.5 V, and the luminances were about 1.69 times greater than that of the conventional device at 16 V driving voltage. Series resistances were determined by the slope of the current-voltage curve and the ac impedance spectroscopy technique.     

Low-temperature processing of transparent conductive indium tin oxide nanocomposites using polyvinyl derivatives

We report on the influence of additives on the electrical, optical, morphological and mechanical properties of transparent conductive indium tin oxide (In₂O₃:Sn; ITO) nanoparticle films by the use of polymers as matrix material. Key issues to fabricate layers suitable for use in electronic device applications are presented. Polyvinyl derivatives polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinyl butyral were applied and their suitability to form transparent conductive ITO nanocomposite coatings at a maximum process temperature of 130 °C was investigated. A low-temperature treatment with UV-light has been developed to provide the possibility of curing ITO thin films deposited on substrates which do not withstand high process temperatures. Compared to best pure ITO layers (0.2 Ω^− 1 cm^− 1), the ITO-PVA nanocomposite coatings show a conductance value of 4.1 Ω^− 1 cm^− 1 and 5.9 Ω^− 1 cm^− 1 after reducing in forming gas. Sheet resistance of ca. 1200 Ω/□ with coexistent transmittance of 85% at 550 nm for a layer thickness of about 1.45 μm was achieved. The conductance enhancement is a consequence of nanoparticulate ITO network densification due to the acting shrinkage forces caused by the polymer matrix during film drying and additionally UV-induced crosslinking of PVA.     

Inkjet-printing of indium tin oxide (ITO) films for transparent conducting electrodes

Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) films have been prepared by inkjet-printing using ITO nanoparticle inks. The electrical and optical properties of the ITO films were investigated in order to understand the effects of annealing temperatures under microwave. The decrease in the sheet resistance and resistivity of the inkjet-printed ITO films was observed as the annealing temperature increases. The film annealed at 400 °C showed the sheet resistance of 517 Ω/sq with the film thickness of ∼580 nm. The optical transmittance of the films remained constant regardless of their annealing temperatures. In order to further reduce the sheet resistance of the films, Ag-grid was printed in between two layers of inkjet-printed ITO. With 3 mm Ag-grid line-to-line pitch, the Ag-grid inserted ITO film has the sheet resistance of 3.4 Ω/sq and the transmittance of 84% after annealing at 200 °C under microwave.     

Improved performance of the single-layer and double-layer organic light emitting diodes by nickel oxide coated indium tin oxide anode

The electrical and optical properties of the NiO films deposited under various conditions were first characterized. An ultra-thin layer of nickel oxide (NiO) was then deposited on the indium-tin oxide (ITO) anode to enhance the hole injection in the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) devices. A very low turn-on voltage (3 V) was actually observed for the device with the ITO/NiO anode in the conventional double layer heterojunction OLEDs. The enhancement of hole injection by the ITO/NiO anode was further verified by the hole-only device and by the device with a patterned NiO layer on the ITO anode. The luminance and the current density of the single-layer OLED device were also significantly improved by using the ITO/NiO anode to enhance the hole injection. Although the luminescence efficiency was low, the reasons of low efficiency were studied and the improvement method was proposed. Our results suggest that the NiO/ITO anode is an excellent choice to enhance the hole injection in OLED devices.     

On-chip amperometric measurement of quantal catecholamine release using transparent indium tin oxide electrodes

Carbon-fiber amperometry has been extensively used to monitor the time course of catecholamine release from cells as individual secretory granules discharge their contents during the process of quantal exocytosis, but microfabricated devices offer the promise of higher throughput. Here we report development of a microchip device that uses transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes to measure quantal exocytosis from cells in microfluidic channels. ITO films on a glass substrate were patterned as 20-mum-wide stripes using photolithography and wet etching and then coated with polylysine to facilitate cell adherence. Microfluidic channels (100 mum wide by 100 mum deep) were formed by molding poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) on photoresist and then reversibly sealing the PDMS slab to the ITO-glass substrate. Bovine adrenal chromaffin cells were loaded into the microfluidic channel and adhered to the ITO electrodes. Cells were stimulated to secrete by perfusing a depolarizing "high-K" solution while monitoring oxidation of catecholamines on the ITO electrode beneath the cell using amperometry. Amperometric spikes with charges ranging from 0.1 to 1.5 pC were recorded with a signal-to-noise ratio comparable to that of carbon-fiber electrodes. Further development of this approach will enable high-throughput measurement of quantal catecholamine release simultaneously with optical cell measurements such as fluorescence.     

Fiber-optic polarization and phase modulator utilizing transparent piezofilm with indium tin oxide electrodes

A highly efficient optical polarization and phase modulator formed by the placement of a thin transparent piezofilm with indium tin oxide electrodes directly in the path of the output from an optical fiber is presented. Various configurations that differ in the clamping conditions, utilization of epoxy, and optical arrangement are presented. For a film thickness of 63.9 μm, a linear phase-shifting coefficient of 0.131 rad/voltage peak (Vp) at 2 kHz and of 0.508 rad/Vp at 7.4 kHz is demonstrated. An intrinsic birefringence of 0.0328 between the directions along the stretch and its perpendicular in the plane of the film has been measured. The polarization modulation coefficient was determined to be 0.323 rad/Vp at 8.423 kHz, corresponding to a half-wave voltage of 8.353 Vp. Applications of the device involving concurrent spatiotemporal polarization and phase modulation are indicated.     

Surface characterisation and functionalisation of indium tin oxide anodes for improvement of charge injection in organic light emitting diodes

Wettability studies have been performed to probe the surface properties of ITO substrates, aimed to be used as hole injecting electrode in OLEDs. The elimination of organic contaminants upon the cleaning treatment (ultrasonic bath in organic solvents) leads to an increase of the free energy of the ITO surface becoming hydrophilic. The surface energy components calculated from the Van Oss model show the appearance of a basic component upon the cleaning treatment. A thermal treatment at 100 °C for 3 h leads to a decrease of the surface free energy due to surface dehydration. These properties are attributed to the hydroxides formed at the ITO surface inducing improved adhesion at the ITO/polymer interface. The ITO surfaces have been functionalised with a chloroethylphosphonic acid mono-layer to increase their stability. The appearance of an acid-base component leads to a dipolar character of the ITO surface. The formation of a compact layer of a spin coated poly(phenylenevinylene) derivative induces the shielding of the ITO basic character. The weakening of the near infrared absorption associated to ITO free carriers confirms the formation of a dipole layer at the interface with the molecular layer in contact with ITO. Improved injection properties, shown by the current/voltage characteristics, result from the interface modifications.     

Surface modification and characterization of indium–tin oxide for organic light-emitting devices

We used various treatment methods such as ethanol treatment, sodium hydroxide solution treatment, sulfur acid treatment, and oxygen plasma treatment to modify the surface of indium–tin oxide (ITO) substrates for organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). The surface properties of the treated ITO substrates were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle, surface energy measurements, four-point probe, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer. The results showed that the ITO surface properties were closely related to the treatment methods, and the oxygen plasma is more efficient than other treatments as it leads to smoother surface, better surface stoichiometry, higher work function and surface energy, lower sheet resistance, and higher transmission of the ITO substrates. Moreover, small molecular organic light-emitting devices (SMOLEDs) using different treated ITO substrates as anodes were fabricated and investigated. It was found that surface treatment of ITO substrates has influence upon the injection current, the turn-on voltages of light emission, luminance, efficiency and lifetime. Oxygen plasma treatment on the ITO substrate yields the highest performance of SMOLEDs due to the improvement of interface formation and electrical contact of the ITO substrate with the small molecular material blend in the SMOLEDs.     

Substitution of transparent conducting oxide thin films for indium tin oxide transparent electrode applications

The present status and prospects for further development of reduced or indium-free transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials for use in practical thin-film transparent electrode applications such as liquid crystal displays are presented in this paper: reduced-indium TCO materials such as ZnO-In₂O₃, In₂O₃-SnO₂ and Zn-In-Sn-O multicomponent oxides and indium-free materials such as Al- and Ga-doped ZnO (AZO and GZO). In particular, AZO thin films, with source materials that are inexpensive and non-toxic, are the best candidates. The current problems associated with substituting AZO or GZO for ITO, besides their stability in oxidizing environments as well as the non-uniform distribution of resistivity resulting from dc magnetron sputtering deposition, can be resolved. Current developments associated with overcoming the remaining problems are also presented: newly developed AZO thin-film deposition techniques that reduce resistivity as well as improve the resistivity distribution uniformity using high-rate dc magnetron sputtering depositions incorporating radio frequency power. In addition, stability tests of resistivity in TCO thin films evaluated in air at 90% relative humidity and 60 °C have demonstrated that sufficiently moisture-resistant AZO thin films can be produced at a substrate temperature below 200 °C when the film thickness was approximately 200 nm. However, improving the stability of AZO and GZO films with a thickness below 100 nm remains a problem.     

Realization of ultrathin silver layers in highly conductive and transparent zinc tin oxide/silver/zinc tin oxide multilayer electrodes deposited at room temperature for transparent organic devices

We report on transparent and highly conductive multilayer electrodes prepared at room temperature by RF sputtering of zinc tin oxide (ZTO) and thermal evaporation of ultrathin silver (Ag) as top contact for transparent organic light emitting diodes (TOLED). Specifically, we study the morphological, electrical and optical properties of the multilayer structure in particular of the thin Ag film. The tendency of Ag to form agglomerates over time on top of ZTO is shown by atomic force microscopy. From the optical constants derived from ellipsometric measurements we evidenced a bulk like behavior of an Ag film with a thickness of 8 nm embedded in ZTO leading to a low sheet resistance of 9 Ω/sq. Furthermore we verify the optical constants by simulation of an optimized ZTO/Ag/ZTO structure. As an application we present a highly efficient TOLED providing a device transmittance of > 82% in the visible part of the spectrum. The TOLED shows no damage caused by sputtering on a lighting area of 80 mm² and exhibits efficiencies of 43 cd/A and 36 lm/W.     

Monte Carlo simulation of indium tin oxide current spreading layers in light emitting diodes

Transparent conductors such as indium tin oxide (ITO) are used in a range of optoelectronic devices. Such materials provide both the electrical interface with the semiconductor and a transparent window for the injection or extraction of photons. In AlGaInP surface emitting LED device structures, a particular problem is that of providing an efficient current spreading layer in order to ensure that electrons are injected across the whole of the active region. In this way, the light extracted can be maximised as it originates from the region below the transparent conductor rather than the contact metal. This paper describes a Monte Carlo simulation that can assist in the optimisation of current spreading and light transmission of ITO layers in LED devices.     

Colloidal indium tin oxide nanoparticles for transparent and conductive films

Nanosized colloidal indium tin oxide (ITO) dispersion was prepared for electrically conductive and transparent coating materials. A titanate coupling agent, isopropyl tri(N-ethylenediamino)ethyl titanate, was chosen as a dispersant for the stabilization of ITO nanoparticles in organic solvent. ITO sol was deposited on a cathode ray tube panel for antistatic or electromagnetic shielding purposes, and alkyl silicate was used for the formation of an antireflective over-coat layer. The resulting double-layered coating showed low sheet resistance, which satisfied semi-TCO regulation and low reflectance of visible light. To control the electrical and optical properties of the coating layer, the effects of secondary particle size of ITO aggregates and the dispersant concentration of ITO sol were studied. The stability of ITO sol was estimated by measuring the particle size as a function of the storage days and the aggregation of colloidal ITO dispersion with storage day was explained by depletion flocculation.     

Preparation of transparent conductive indium tin oxide thin films from nanocrystalline indium tin hydroxide by dip-coating method

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films with well-controlled layer thickness were produced by dip-coating method. The ITO was synthesized by a sol-gel technique involving the use of aqueous InCl₃, SnCl₄ and NH₃ solutions. To obtain stable sols for thin film preparation, as-prepared Sn-doped indium hydroxide was dialyzed, aged, and dispersed in ethanol. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was applied to enhance the stability of the resulting ethanolic sols. The transparent, conductive ITO films on glass substrates were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The ITO layer thickness increased linearly during the dipping cycles, which permits excellent controllability of the film thickness in the range ~ 40-1160 nm. After calcination at 550 °C, the initial indium tin hydroxide films were transformed completely to nanocrystalline ITO with cubic and rhombohedral structure. The effects of PVP on the optical, morphological and electrical properties of ITO are discussed.     

柔性有机薄膜电致发光显示材料及器件

有机薄膜电致发光显示器件(OLED)近年来得到了迅猛发展,是未来全固体平板式彩色显示器的重要候选者,其最大优势之一是可以制作成柔性显示器件。本文综述了柔性有机电致发光材料及器件的发展概况、工作原理与优缺点,目前制作此类器件中存在的困难及解决这些困难的有效措施。     

Parylene-C-Coated indium tin oxide electrodes for the optical- and electrical-impedance characterization of cells

The demand for the label-free and real-time monitoring of biological cells for the diagnosis of diseases and the discovery of new drugs is increasing. The electrical-impedance characterization of cells has been used to quantify in real time the behaviours of biological cells adhered on the gold or platinum microelectrodes. In this article, a parylene-C-coated indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode, which has better transparency than the conventional electrodes, and high biocompatibility, was investigated for the optical- and electrical-impedance characterization of the cell growth. The living cells on the fabricated parylene-C-coated ITO electrode were observed via phase contrast microscopy, which produces high-contrast images of the transparent cells without staining. The electrical properties of the cellular parameters were extrapolated through fitting analysis with the designed equivalent circuit to the measured impedance spectra of the cell-covered electrode. From the experimental results, it was proven that the fabricated parylene-C-coated ITO electrode is feasible for the optical- and electrical-impedance characterization of cell growth.     

Admittance spectroscopic analysis of organic light emitting diodes with the CFX plasma treatment on the surface of indium tin oxide anodes

Admittance spectroscopic analysis was used to examine the effect of a CF_X plasma surface treatment on indium tin oxide (ITO) anodes using CF₄ gas and model the equivalent circuit for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) with the of ITO anode surface treated with CF_X plasma. This device with the ITO/N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-1,1′-diphenyl-4,4′-diamine/tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum/lithium fluoride/Al structure was modeled as a simple combination of two resistors and a capacitor. The ITO anode surface treated with the CF_X plasma showed a shift in the vacuum level of the ITO, which resulted in a decrease in the barrier height for hole injection at the ITO/organic interface. Admittance spectroscopy measurements of the devices with the CF_X plasma treatment on the surface of the ITO anodes showed a change in the contact resistance, bulk resistance and bulk capacitance.     

High quality transparent conductive electrodes in organic photovoltaic devices

The use of indium tin oxide (ITO) in conjunction with polymeric substrates requires deposition at low temperatures or room temperature, and with a limited or no thermal treatment. This process results in high resistivity materials. To achieve practical resistivity levels, we replaced ITO, the workhorse in organic optoelectronic devices, with an ITO/Ag/ITO tri-layer anode. This material yielded the desired electrical properties without a significant effect on its optical properties. For example, a sheet resistance of 15 Ω/□ and an optical transmission of 90% at 550 nm were obtained for a tri-layer film in which thickness of each ITO layer is 50 nm and the Ag layer thickness is 8 nm. The use of these tri-layer anodes in CuPc-C₆₀-based organic solar cells led to an increase in the fill factor under illumination, and thus an improvement of the external power conversion efficiency.