La-doped BaSnO3 for electromagnetic shielding transparent conductors.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Solid State Chemistry

Background:

• Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are crucial for optoelectronic devices.
• Lanthanum-doped Barium Stannate (BLSO) exhibits potential as a TCO.
• Achieving high conductivity and transparency simultaneously remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop high-performance BLSO films for transparent conductive and electromagnetic shielding applications.
• To overcome challenges in growing BLSO on industrially relevant substrates.
• To investigate the correlation between crystallinity and electrical properties.

Main Methods:

• Epitaxial growth of BLSO films on MgAl2O4 substrates using an MgO template layer.
• Optimization of La doping concentration (5-20%).
• Characterization of structural, electrical, optical, and electromagnetic shielding properties.

Main Results:

• High-quality (001)-oriented BLSO films were grown on MgAl2O4 using an MgO template.
• A positive correlation between crystallinity and conductivity was confirmed.
• 5% La-doped BLSO films achieved sheet resistance of ~8.7 Ω/sq, ~80% visible transmittance, and ~25.9 dB X-band shielding effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The MgO template strategy enables high-performance BLSO films on practical substrates.
• Highly crystalline BLSO demonstrates superior properties compared to other TCOs like ITO and SrMoO3.
• BLSO is a promising material for applications requiring transparent conductive and electromagnetic shielding properties.