Effect of heat treatment on optical, electrical and thermal properties of ZnO/Cu/ZnO thin films for energy-saving application

In this work, the effect of annealing on the ZnO/Cu/ZnO films prepared by an RF/DC magnetron sputtering system was studied. Structural, optical, and thermal properties of both the as-prepared samples and their annealing data were systematically investigated. Our evaluation shows that these layers can be used as suitable coatings in energy storage applications. The ZnO/Cu/ZnO sample after annealing at 400 degrees C has the lowest resistivity (14.04 omega/sq), highest FOM (6.37 x 10-4 omega- 1), and lowest emissivity (0.16). It can also be chosen as the best coating on building windows to save energy because of its high transmittance at 550 nm (68%) and low Uvalue (1.63 W/Cm2.K).

Automated summary

The effect of annealing on ZnO/Cu/ZnO films was investigated, and the structural, optical, and thermal properties of the films were evaluated. The results showed that the ZnO/Cu/ZnO sample annealed at 400 degrees C had the lowest resistivity, highest transmittance, and lowest emissivity, making it suitable for energy-saving applications such as building windows.