Thin highly transparent visible/near-infrared Ta-doped TiO2 electrode

The study focuses on the development of novel transparent electrode for maximizing energy harvesting and performance of an optoelectronic device. Along with the high visible transparency (of 82%), this electrode has also ensured high near-infrared transparency of 88% that is substantially higher than the conventionally used Sn-doped In<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> (ITO), F-doped SnO<inf>2</inf> (FTO) and Al-doped ZnO (AZO). The film shows an electrical resistivity of 24.54 × 10^–3 Ω cm and a high electron concentration of 1.14 × 10²¹ cm⁻³. Moreover, this highly transparent visible/near-infrared Ta-doped TiO<inf>2</inf> electrode is realized on a glass substrate that has inferior quality as compared to its crystalline counterparts and hence cost-effective. Here, magnetron sputtering, one of the commercially viable deposition techniques, is used to synthesize this electrode, thus enabling huge commercialization possibilities.