ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer-based transparent conductive electrodes for ultraviolet light-emitting diodes

ITO/Ag/ITO (IAI) multilayer-based transparent conductive electrodes for ultraviolet light-emitting diodes are fabricated by reactive sputtering, optimized by annealing, and characterized with respect to electrical and optical properties. Increasing the annealing temperature from 300 degrees C to 500 degrees C decreased the sheet resistance and increased the transmittance. This may result from an observed improvement in the crystallinity of the IAI multilayer and a reduction in the near-UV absorption coefficient of Ag. We observed the lowest sheet resistance (9.21 Omega/sq) and the highest optical transmittance (88%) at 380 nm for the IAI multilayer samples annealed in N-2 gas at 500 degrees C. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America