Transparent conductive film with high transmittance formed by a reactive sputter deposition
AssigneeApplied Materials, Inc.
InventorsHien-Minh Huu Le, David Tanner
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Abstract
Methods for sputter depositing a transparent conductive layer are provided in the present invention. The transparent conductive layer may be utilized as a contact layer on a substrate or a back reflector in a photovoltaic device. In one embodiment, the method includes supplying a gas mixture into the processing chamber, sputtering source material from a target disposed in the processing chamber, wherein the target is fabricated from a zinc containing material having an aluminum containing dopant concentration less than 3 percent by weight, and reacting the sputtered material with the gas mixture.
Claims23
A method of sputter depositing a transparent conductive layer, comprising:
- supplying a gas mixture into a processing chamber;
- sputtering a source material from a target disposed in the processing chamber, wherein the target is fabricated from a zinc containing material having an aluminum containing dopant concentration less than 3 percent by weight;
- and
- reacting the sputtered material with the gas mixture to deposit a transparent conductive layer on a substrate.
A method of sputter depositing a transparent conductive layer, comprising:
- providing a substrate in a processing chamber;
- supplying a gas mixture into the processing chamber;
- sputtering source material from a target disposed in the processing chamber;
- reacting the sputtered material with the gas mixture;
- and
- forming a transparent conductive layer on the substrate from the reacted sputtered material, wherein the transparent conductive layer is a zinc oxide layer having an aluminum oxide dopant concentration between about 0.25 percent by weight and about 3 percent by weight.
A method of sputter depositing a transparent conductive layer, comprising:
- providing a substrate in a processing chamber;
- supplying a gas mixture comprising at least an argon gas and an oxygen gas into the processing chamber;
- sputtering source material from a target fabricated from a zinc oxide material having an aluminum oxide dopant less than 3 percent by weight disposed in the processing chamber;
- and
- reacting the sputtered source material with the gas mixture to form a transparent conductive layer on the substrate.
A method of sputter depositing a transparent conductive layer, comprising:
- providing a substrate in a processing chamber;
- supplying a gas mixture comprising at least an argon gas and an oxygen gas into the processing chamber;
- sputtering source material from a target fabricated from a zinc oxide material having an aluminum oxide dopant less than 3 percent by weight disposed in the processing chamber;
- and
- reacting the sputtered source material with the gas mixture to form a transparent conductive layer on the substrate, wherein the transparent conductive layer is a ZnO layer having an Al2O3 dopant concentration between about 0.25 percent by weight and about 3 percent by weight.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.