Transparent Conductive Al-Doped ZnO/Cu Bilayer Films Grown on Polymer Substrates at Room Temperature

Al-doped ZnO (AZO)/Cu bi-layer films are deposited by dc magnetron sputtering on polycarbonate substrates at room temperature. The structural, electrical and optical properties of the films are investigated at various sputtering powers of the Cu layer. The AZO/Cu bi-layer film deposited at a moderate sputtering power of 180 W for the Cu layer displayed the highest figure of merit of 3.47×10⁻³ Ω^-1, with a low sheet resistance of 12.38 Ω/sq, an acceptable visible transmittance of 73%, and a high near-infrared reflectance of about 50%.