Ultraviolet-transparent conductive electrodes based on oxide/Ag/oxide multilayers

Oxide/Ag/oxide multilayer thin films were fabricated using physical vapor deposition to evaluate their potential as ultraviolet transparent conductors. Unlike prior single-oxide studies, we report here a comparative, mechanism-driven evaluation across five oxides (Er₂O₃,Ga₂O₃,HfO₂, Ta₂O₅, and ZrO₂) and five Ag thicknesses, ultimately mapping how the oxide-Ag interfaces tune UV performance. The optical transmittance and sheet resistance of the multilayers were highly tunable through precise control of both the Ag interlayer thickness and the choice of oxide material, thus enabling a balance between conductivity and transparency. By linking morphology with electrical and optical data, we related the morphological evolution of Ag to the transition from tunneling-limited transport to continuous-network conduction, yielding practical selection rules rather than empirical tuning. The optimal optical-electrical trade-off was found with the ZrO₂/Ag/ZrO₂ (45/8/45 nm) configuration, which demonstrated a sheet resistance of 6.0 Ω/◻, a maximum transmittance of 85.0 % at 336 nm, an average transmittance of 82.3 % over the 300–400 nm wavelength range, and a figure of merit (FOM) of 23.76 × 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹. In the broader UV range (200–400 nm), the Er₂O₃/Ag/ Er₂O₃ (45/8/45 nm) structure showed the best performance with an FOM of 1.69 × 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹, a sheet resistance of 23.4 Ω/◻, an average transmittance of 72.4 %, and a maximum transmittance of 87.6 % at 330 nm. Overall, this comparative dataset and mechanistic framework provide a practical roadmap for choosing the oxide host and Ag thickness to target specific UV windows in optoelectronic devices.