Dresden 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten
DS 9: Thin Film Properties III: Oxides
DS 9.3: Vortrag
Dienstag, 10. März 2026, 14:30–14:45, REC/C213
Investigation of epitaxial ITO layers on YSZ as a transparent conductive back contact for photoelectrochemical applications — •Margaretha Huber1, Sergej Levashov1, Tsedenia Zewdie1,2, Ian D. Sharp1,2, and Johanna Eichhorn1 — 1TUM School of Natural Sciences — 2Walter Schottky Institut
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising route toward sustainable, high-energy-density solar fuels for carbon-neutral energy storage. Transparent conducting oxides such as indium tin oxide (ITO) often serve as back contacts due to their high electrical conductivity, electrochemical stability in the oxygen evolution reaction, and favorable band alignment. ITO grown on cubic oxide substrates such as yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) can act as an epitaxial template with low lattice mismatch, enabling fully epitaxial oxide heterostructures with well-defined interfaces and reduced defect densities. Here, we investigate epitaxial ITO (100) thin films on YSZ grown by e-beam evaporation through a systematic variation of deposition rate, substrate temperature, and post-deposition annealing atmosphere, thereby tuning crystallinity, lattice parameters, carrier transport, and surface morphology. The correlation between structural quality and stoichiometry, and their impact on electrical properties, is investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). These ITO/YSZ templates are evaluated using BiVO4 as a model photoanode to enable efficient charge extraction and provide design guidelines for epitaxial oxide heterostructures for PEC water splitting.
Keywords: epixial; ITO; YSZ; XRD