Epitaxial Bi₂Sr₂CuOy thin films as p-type transparent conductors

Development of p-type transparent conducting thin films is tireless due to the trade-off issue between optical transparency and conductivity. The rarely concerned low normal state resistance makes Bi-based superconducting cuprates the potential hole-type transparent conductors, which have been realized in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_y thin films. In this study, epitaxial superconducting Bi₂Sr₂CuO_y and Bi₂Sr_1.8Nd_0.2CuO_y thin films with superior normal state conductivity are proposed as p-type transparent conductors. It is found that the Bi₂Sr_1.8Nd_0.2CuO_y thin film with thickness 15 nm shows an average visible transmittance of 65% and room-temperature sheet resistance of 650 Ω/sq. The results further demonstrate that Bi-based cuprate superconductors can be regarded as potential p-type transparent conductors for future optoelectronic applications.