Method of manufacturing transparent conductive film, the transparent conductive substrate using the film, as well as device using the substrate

A method of manufacturing a transparent conductive film to be formed through following steps:

• a coating step of coating a substrate with a coating liquid for forming transparent conductive film containing an organometallic compound and a dopant organometallic compound as main components to form a coating film;
• a drying step of drying the coating film to form a dried coating film;
• a heat energy ray irradiating step of irradiating the dried coating film with energy rays while heating the dried coating film to form an inorganic film having an inorganic component, which is a metal oxide containing a dopant metal compound, as a main component;
• and a plasma processing step of performing plasma processing on the inorganic film to further promote mineralization or crystallization of the film, wherein
• the heat energy ray irradiating step is a step of irradiating the dried coating film having the organometallic compound and the dopant organometallic compound as main components formed in the drying step with the energy rays while heating the dried coating film under an oxygen-containing atmosphere to a heating temperature lower than 300° C. to remove an organic component contained in the dried coating film by decomposition or burning, or decomposition and burning and to form the inorganic film having the inorganic component, which is the metal oxide containing the dopant metal compound, as the main component,
• the plasma processing step is a step of performing the plasma processing on the inorganic film having the inorganic component, which is the metal oxide containing the dopant metal compound, as the main component formed in the heat energy ray irradiating step under a non-oxidizing gas atmosphere at a substrate temperature lower than 300° C. to further promote mineralization or crystallization of the film, thereby forming a conductive oxide fine-particle layer densely packed with conductive oxide fine particles containing the dopant metal compound and having the metal oxide as a main component, and
• the organometallic compound is formed from any one or more of an organic indium compound, an organic tin compound, and an organic zinc compound, and the metal oxide is any one or more of indium oxide, tin oxide, and zinc oxide.