Fluorine-doped SnO2 (FTO) thin film/Ag nanowire (NW) double layers were fabricated by means of spin coating and ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. To investigate the optimum thickness of the FTO thin films when used as protection layer for Ag NWs, the deposition time of the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process was varied at 0, 1, 3, 5, or 10 min. The structural, chemical, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of the double layers were examined using X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, the Hall effect measurement system, and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Although pure Ag NWs formed isolated droplet-shaped Ag particles at an annealing temperature of 300 oC, Ag NWs covered by FTO thin films maintained their high-aspect-ratio morphology. As the deposition time of the FTO thin films increased, the electrical and optical properties of the double layers degraded gradually. Therefore, the double layer fabricated with FTO thin films deposited for 1 min exhibited superb sheet resistance (~14.9Ω/□), high optical transmittance (~88.6 %), the best FOM (~19.9 × 10−3 Ω−1), and excellent thermal stability at an annealing temperature of 300 oC owing to the good morphology maintenance of the Ag NWs covered by FTO thin films.

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is an attractive material for smart window applications where the transmittance of light can be automatically modulated from a transparent state to an opaque state at the critical temperature of ~68˚C. Meanwhile, F : SnO2 (F-doped SnO2, FTO) glass is a transparent conductive oxide material that is widely used in solar-energy-related applications because of its excellent optical and electrical properties. Relatively high transmittance and low emissivity have been obtained for FTO-coated glasses. Tunable transmittance corresponding to ambient temperature and low emissivity can be expected from VO2 films deposited onto FTO glasses. In this study, FTO glasses were applied for the deposition of VO2 thin films by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. VO2 thin films were also deposited on a Pyrex substrate for comparison. To decrease the phase transition temperature of VO2, tungsten-doped VO2 films were also deposited onto FTO glasses. The visible transmittance of VO2/FTO was higher than that of VO2/pyrex due to the increased crystallinity of the VO2 thin film deposited on FTO and decreased interface reflection. Although the solar transmittance modulation of VO2/FTO was lower than that of VO2/pyrex, room temperature solar transmittance of VO2/FTO was lower than that of VO2/pyrex, which is advantageous for reflecting solar heat energy in summer.

There have been many efforts to modify and improve the properties of functional thin films by hybridization with nano-sized materials. For the fabrication of electronic circuits, micro-patterning is a commonly used process. For photochemical metal-organic deposition, photoresist and dry etching are not necessary for microscale patterning. We obtained direct-patternable SnO2 thin films using a photosensitive solution containing Ag nanoparticles and/or multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The optical transmittance of direct-patternable SnO2 thin films decreased with introduction of nanomaterials due to optical absorption and optical scattering by Ag nanoparticles and MWNTs, respectively. The crystallinity of the SnO2 thin films was not much affected by an incorporation of Ag nanoparticles and MWNTs. In the case of mixed incorporation with Ag nanoparticles and MWNTs, the sheet resistance of SnO2 thin films decreased relative to incorporation of either single component. Valence band spectral analyses of the nano-hybridized SnO2 thin films showed a relation between band structural change and electrical resistance. Direct-patterning of SnO2 hybrid films with a line-width of 30 μm was successfully performed without photoresist or dry etching. These results suggest that a micro-patterned system can be simply fabricated, and the electrical properties of SnO2 films can be improved by incorporating Ag nanoparticles and MWNTs.

고주파 스피터 방법으로 제조된 SnO2감지막 위에 에어로졸 화염 증착법으로 알루미나 표면 보호층을 증착하여 SnO2박막 가스 센서의 감지 특성에 미치는 영향에 대햐여 조사하였고, 표면 보호층에 귀금속 Pt를 도핑하여 Pt의 함량이 CO 및 CH(sub)4 가스들의 선택성에 미치는 영향에 대하여 조사하였다. SnO2박막은 R.F power 50 W, 공정 압력 4 mtorr, 기판온도 200˚C에서 30분간 0.3μm 두께로 Pt 전극 위에 제조하였고, 질산알루미늄(Al(NO3).9H2O) 용액을 희석하여 에어로졸 화염증착법으로 알루미나 표면 보호층을 만든후 600˚C에서 6시간동안 산소분위기에서 열처리하였다. 알루미나 표면 보호층이 증착된 SnO2가스 센서소자의 경우 보호층이 없는 가스 센서와 비교하여 CO 가스에 대한 감도는 매우 감소하였으나 CH4가스에 대한 감도 특성은 순수한 SnO2센서 소자와 비슷하였다. 결과적으로 보호층을 이용하여 CH4가스에 대한 상대적인 선택성 증가를 이룰 수 있었다. 특히 표면 보호층에 Pt가 첨가된 센서 소자의 경우 CO 가스에 대해서는 낮은 감도 특성을 나타내었으나 CH4에 대한 감도는 매우 증가하여 CH4가스의 선택성을 더욱 증대시킬 수 있었다. CH4가스 선택성 향상에 미치는 알루미나 표면 보호층과 Pt의 역할에 대하여 고찰해 보았다.