**6. References**


**26** 

Guido Falk

*Germany* 

*and Ceramics, Saarbruecken,* 

**Sintering of Transparent Conductive** 

**Advanced Optoelectronic Materials** 

*Saarland University, Chair Powder Technology of Glass* 

**Oxides: From Oxide Ceramic Powders to** 

Since Cadmium thin films have been sputtered and thermally oxidized for the first time in 1907 (Chopra, et al., 1983) the technological innovation in transparent conductive oxides (TCO) has developed rapidly and substantially during the last years. Indium-tin-oxide (In:90:Sn:10, ITO) is today the most important TCO material due to the potential combinations of high electrical conductivity in the range of 104 S/cm and high transparency

Today TCO thin films are processed by chemical or physical vapour deposition, especially vacuum based sputtering and evaporation processes. Due to these elaborate and complex manufacturing, especially for large-size TCO applications direct structuring of TCO layers by printing, sol-gel coating and other powder- and paste-based manufacturing processes

These as-processed TCO materials serve as transparent electrodes in liquid crystal displays, thin-film electroluminescence displays, electrochromic displays, transparent conductive coatings of highly sensitive radiation detectors, ferroelectric photoconductors and memory devices, transparent conductive oxidic films as gate-electrodes for injection and charge coupled devices and are used in products as flat panel displays, touchscreens, organic light emitting diodes, electroluminescence lamps as well as numerous components of solar

Resulting from the increased indium consumption and the expected supply gap of indium raw materials within the next decades (Carlin, 2007) an increasing priority is attributed to the development of suitable substitute materials, whereas currently aluminium doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al, AZO) have consistently attached the highest importance (Ellmer, et al., 2008). Beside the TCO applications mentioned above AZO is used in highly promising developments such as blue and ultraviolet lasers, components of improved light amplification of GaN-based LEDs, transparent thin film transistors, photo detectors,

have been the subject of many investigations (Hyatt, 1989, Straue, et al., 2009).

in the visible range of 90 % with a layer thickness of 100 nm.

varistors, catalysts and optical current transformers.

**1. Introduction** 

technology.

[7] Kopchenova, Е.V., Karyukina, V.N. Estimation of the рН of mineral suspension and the implication of this index in mineralogical studies // Modern methods for mineralogical study. М.: Nedra, 1969. P.148-155.
