Surface modification of a new flexible substrate based on hydroxypropylcellulose for optoelectronic applications

In this paper, we present the preliminary results concerning the deposition of highly transparent and conductive gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) deposited on transparent flexible substrate based on cellulose derivatives. Prior to the deposition of the GZO film, the surface of the polymer have been coated with a thin silicon dioxide (SiO(2)) layer deposited by thermal evaporation assisted by an electron gun. By doing this surface treatment, we succeeded in depositing highly conductive and transparent GZO with an electrical resistivity of 2.0 x 10(-3) Omega cm and an average optical transmittance in the visible part of the spectrum (400700 nm) of 70% by r.f. magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Besides the optoelectronic properties, the films are mechanically stable with a polycrystalline structure with a strong preferred (002) orientation, parallel to the substrate. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.