title: Incorporating carbon nanotubes in sol-gel synthesized indium tin oxide transparent conductive films.
abstract: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are incorporated in indium tin oxide (ITO) films through a sol-gel dip coating method. CNT incorporation has no effect on lattice parameter and preferential orientation of the ITO matrix. Raman spectrum confirms the presence of CNTs in the ITO matrix. The surface roughness is decreased by CNT addition. Moreover, the optical transmittance of the ITO-CNT films is more than that of ITO films in the IR region. The higher transmittance region of the ITO-CNT films compared to that of ITO films is extended to the visible region with increasing thickness of the films. In terms of electrical resistance, the ITO film shows slightly lower sheet resistance compared to the ITO-CNT film. However, the sheet resistance of the ITO-CNT film is further reduced by thickness and reaches the minimum amount in the 15-layer deposited sample, which is lower than that of ITO samples. It seems that CNT incorporation in the ITO matrix can dramatically reduce microcrack formation, especially in higher thicknesses. Furthermore, the sensitivity of ITO films to thermal cycling is dramatically enhanced with CNT addition. In addition, the figure of merit of ITO films is strongly improved in the vis-NIR region with CNT incorporation.
authors.affiliation: School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran , P.O. Box: 14395-553, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Golobostanfard
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Abdizadeh
authors.forename: Mohammad Amin
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Baghchesara