Annealing-Induced Chemical Interaction at the Ag/In2O3:H Interface as Revealed by In Situ Photoelectron Spectroscopy

Xiao T, Erfurt D, Felix R, Liao X, Frisch J, Abou-Ras D, Mazzio KA, Wilks RG, Schlatmann R, Bär M (2023)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal

Advanced Materials Interfaces WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA

DOI: 10.1002/admi.202202347

Abstract

Hydrogen-doped In2O3 (In2O3:H) is highly conductive while maintaining extraordinary transparency, thus making it a very attractive material for applications in optoelectronic devices such as (multijunction) solar cells or light-emitting devices. However, the corresponding metal/In2O3:H contacts may exhibit undesirably high resistances, significantly deteriorating device performance. To gain insight into the underlying efficiency-limiting mechanism, hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is employed to in-situ monitor annealing-induced changes in the chemical structure of the Ag/In2O3:H interface system that is further complemented by ex-situ electron microscopy analyses and contact resistance measurements. The observed evolution of the Ag- and In-related photoelectron line intensities can be explained by significant intermixing across the Ag/In2O3:H interface. The corresponding lineshape broadening of the Ag 3d spectra is attributed to the formation of Ag2O and AgO, which becomes significant at temperatures above approximately 160 °C. However, after annealing to 300 °C, instead of the formation of an insulating AgOx interfacial layer, it is found i) In to be rather homogeneously distributed in the complete Ag/In2O3:H stack, ii) Ag diffusing into the In2O3:H, and iii) an improvement of the contact resistance rather than its often-reported deterioration.

Authors with CRIS profile

Marcus Bär

Involved external institutions

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (HZB) DE Germany (DE) Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Xiao, T., Erfurt, D., Felix, R., Liao, X., Frisch, J., Abou-Ras, D.,... Bär, M. (2023). Annealing-Induced Chemical Interaction at the Ag/In2O3:H Interface as Revealed by In Situ Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Advanced Materials Interfaces. https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202202347

MLA:

Xiao, Ting, et al. "Annealing-Induced Chemical Interaction at the Ag/In2O3:H Interface as Revealed by In Situ Photoelectron Spectroscopy." Advanced Materials Interfaces (2023).

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