Sputtered transparent electrodes for optoelectronic devices: Induced damage and mitigation strategies

Progress and potential

Optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells and light-emitting diodes, as well as transparent electronic devices, rely on efficient light–matter interactions and usually require transparent top electrodes that are deposited onto a device layer stack. Magnetron sputtering, well established in the coating industry, is the most common technique to deposit such materials. Nevertheless, this process may result in irreversible damage to underlying sensitive layers because the deposition process involves high-energy particles and plasma emission. Several strategies are available to prevent such damage; some of these methods are common for various optoelectronic devices, while others have yet to be considered for specific applications. Taking inspiration across different research fields, we discuss how to choose adequate buffer layers for various optoelectronic devices as well as possible paths to eliminate their need via soft-landing methods for transparent electrodes.