An Inter-Laboratory Study of Zn–Sn–Ti–O Thin Films using High-Throughput Experimental Methods
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899-3460, United States
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, Colorado 80401, United States
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
- University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
High-throughput experimental (HTE) techniques are an increasingly important way to accelerate the rate of materials research and development for many technological applications. However, there are very few publications on the reproducibility of the HTE results obtained across different laboratories for the same materials system, and on the associated sample and data exchange standards. Here, we report a comparative study of Zn-Sn-Ti-O thin films materials using high-throughput experimental methods at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The thin film sample libraries were synthesized by combinatorial physical vapor deposition (co-sputtering and pulsed laser deposition), and characterized by spatially-resolved techniques for composition, structure, thickness, optical and electrical properties. The results of this study indicate that all these measurement techniques performed at two different laboratories show excellent qualitative agreement. The quantitative similarities and differences vary by measurement type, with 95% confidence interval of 0.1-0.2 eV for the band gap, 24-29 nm for film thickness, and 0.08 to 0.37 orders of magnitude for sheet resistance. Overall, this work serves as a case study for the feasibility of a High-Throughput Experimental Materials Collaboratory (HTE-MC) by demonstrating the exchange of high-throughput sample libraries, workflows and data.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Next Generation of Materials by Design: Incorporating Metastability (CNGMD); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Sustainability Performance Office (EE-5S)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1508183
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1503165; OSTI ID: 1508763; OSTI ID: 1512432
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/JA-5K00-72592
- Journal Information:
- ACS Combinatorial Science, Journal Name: ACS Combinatorial Science Vol. 21 Journal Issue: 5; ISSN 2156-8952
- Publisher:
- American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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