What is a TCO?
A TCO is a unique type of material that exhibits both high optical transparency and electrical conductivity
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Sodium Ion Diffusion, Silicon Oxide and ITO Coated Glass Slides
Diamond Coatings UK recently launched a new ITO coated glass slides range featuring a layer of silicon oxide. Here is why.
Diamond Coatings UK recently launched a new ITO coated glass slides range featuring a layer of silicon oxide. Here is why.
Soda Lime Glass
The most popular glass used for ITO glass slides (as well as window-panes, glass bakeware (when tempered), bottles/jars for beverages, food and varying other commodities) is – due to its comparatively low cost of processing, chemical stability and reasonable hardness – soda lime float, or soda lime glass.
Created by pulling glass over molten tin baths’ and typically featuring one side (the upper, air-facing side) that is smoother, as well as flatter, than the other (tin-facing) side, soda lime glass can be thermally and/or chemically strengthened or supplied as standard. It can also be cut to diverse sizes.
ITO Glass and Sodium Diffusion
Applying a highly conductive, transparent In2O5Sn (indium tin oxide, or ITO) layer to the surface of soda lime glass slides provides them with the electronic and optoelectronic properties required to meet the demands of many scientific, R&D and medical applications/projects.
Unfortunately, soda lime glass contains about 14wt% (wt% is used to express weight percentages, i.e. 14g per 100g) of sodium (Na) or, to be more specific, sodium oxide (Na2O) – and sodium ions have a natural tendency to diffuse (leak) out of the glass and straight into the ITO coating.
This diffusion of sodium ions can have a significant impact on the ITO layer’s electronic & optoelectronic properties and subsequently its overall performance, as well as that of any devices that were grown upon said layer.
Affecting both the quality and durability of slides, this diffusion process can, however, be inhibited with the help of silicon oxide.
DC ITO Coated Glass Slides
Diamond Coatings therefore introduced the 25nm-thin SiO2 (silicon oxide) barrier layer between the soda lime glass and the conductive ITO coating to effectively inhibit sodium ion diffusion and increase both quality and durability of our ITO coated glass slides.
Learn More
Contact us via our contact form online, by e-mail: enquiries@diamondcoatings.co.uk or by calling +44 (0) 121 550 9430 or +44 (0) 8451 360 603 (Local Rate) today to learn more and/or discuss the specific requirements of your R&D, medical or scientific project,
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Diamond Coatings operate a state-of-the-art magnetron sputtering plant, equipped with clean rooms, from modern factory premises located in the heart of England, the Midlands. We provide a variety of products, namely Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Anti-reflection (AR) coatings on plastic or glass, monolithic RFI shielding filters on plastic or glass, Touchscreens, capacitive or resistive, glass supply, mesh windows.
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