Method of thermally tempering coated article with transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coating using flame(s) in tempering furnace adjacent TCO to burn off oxygen and product made using same

A method of making a coated article including a transparent conductive film, the method comprising:

• providing a glass substrate;
• forming a transparent conductive film comprising a transparent conductive oxide on the glass substrate;
• and
• tempering the coated article including the glass substrate and the transparent conductive film, and wherein at least one flame is provided in a tempering furnace within about 20 cm of the transparent conductive film, wherein the flame, provided in order to burn off oxygen to prevent or reduce oxidizing of the film comprising transparent conductive oxide, is provided in addition to another heating element which performs the tempering, so that the tempering occurs regardless of the flame.