MOCVD of highly conductive CdO thin films

Thin films of cadmium oxide have been deposited onto alumino–silicate glass substrates by atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition using DMCd and n-butanol, a novel oxygen source. Studies were conducted to evaluate how different conditions such as temperature and precursor concentration influenced the film growth. Film characterization showed that at an optimum temperature range of 270–290 °C, CdO exhibits low spreading resistance of 17.1 per square, for a 400 nm film, compared with 10 per square for 1.1 m indium tin oxide film, and high transmittance, between 600 and 900 nm, up to 90% with a band gap of 2.4 eV. Within this optimum temperature range, the grain size and surface roughness are shown to be a minimum.