Large-area rod-coated indium-tin-oxide transparent conductive films for low-cost electronics

Transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films have significant applications in optoelectronic fields. In this study, we fabricated a large-area (> 3 x 7 cm(2)) indium-tin-oxide (ITO) film with rod coating strategy and low-temperature lightwave irradiation treatment. We investigated the crystallinity, morphology, and optoelectronic characteristics of ITO thin films using different indium chloride precursor concentrations. Results show that the optimal precursor concentration of 0.5 M allows the ITO films to have > 90% transmittance, < 16.4 ohm/sq sheet resistance, and a 2.39 x 10(-2) ohm(-1) figure of merit. These results are comparable or superior to those of small- or large-area ITO thin films prepared using the solution process. Overall, our findings pave the way for the fabrication of high-performance and large-area ITO transparent conductive films at low temperatures, facilitating potential applications in low-cost and large-scale TCO electronics.