Effects of sputtering with Kr gas and insertion of lowermost layer on electrical resistivity of Ag-multilayer

Abstract Silver-based low-emissivity films have been studied to improve window insulation performance. We have reduced the resistivity of Ag in glass/ZnO/Ag structures by inserting a TiO 2 in the lowermost layer. In another study, we have also found that the resistivity of Ag thin film can be reduced by changing the sputtering gas from Ar to Kr. In this study, both methods were adapted to achieve even lower resistivity and the factors involved were analyzed in detail. The lowest electrical resistivity achieved was 3.3 μ Ω·cm for a combination of a glass/TiO 2 /ZnO/Ag structure and Kr gas sputtering, which was 2.9% less than that for a glass/TiO 2 /ZnO/Ag structure with Ar gas sputtering. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy results indicated that the important factor influencing the electrical resistivity was a reduction in the amount of sputtering gas trapped in the Ag layer by depositing the layer using Kr gas.