Transparent conductive oxide coating for thin film photovoltaic applications and methods of making the same

A method of making a thin film device, the method comprising:

• depositing a first layer by pyrolytic chemical vapor deposition onto at least a portion of a substrate;
• depositing a second layer by pyrolytic chemical vapor deposition to form a transparent conductive film over at least a portion of the deposited first layer, the second layer comprising a tin oxide and being deposited from a gaseous mixture in the presence of an oxidizing chemical vapor and at an elevated temperature;
• and
• cooling the deposited first and second layers from the elevated temperature to ambient temperature in a non-oxidizing or slightly reducing atmosphere so as to provide a post-production increase of electrical conductivity of the second layer by at least 2%,
• wherein the oxidizing vapor is mixed with the gaseous mixture before said depositing of the second layer, for which the gaseous mixture is provided at 0.20-2.00 kg/min and comprises 70-95% monobutyl tin trichloride and 5-20% trifluoroacetic acid, and
• wherein the oxidizing chemical is selected from the group consisting of peroxides, nitric acid, nitrates, nitrites, nitrous oxide, sulfuric acid, sulfates, persulfates, hypochloric acid, chlorates, perchlorates, bromate, borates, and combinations thereof.