Ito Coated Glass and Conductive Glass Properties and Their Uses
August 30, 2017Alternate energy resources, such as solar and wind power, are increasingly becoming more popular as the awareness about the ecological benefits of clean energy is also spreading faster. Solar energy is becoming one of the prominent alternative clean energy sources today.
An ideally functioning solar cell needs conductive glass slides for efficient and optimum conductivity. ITO (Indium Tin oxide) coated glass comes under the TCO (transparent conducting oxide) conductive glasses category.
Efficient properties of ITO coated glasses
ITO coated glasses made by spreading a quite thin but uniform layer of Indium Tin Oxide over a glass substrate. ITO coated glass substrate makes the glass low resistance and highly transparent at the same time.
The process of coating a glass substrate with ITO performed with extensive care. The procedure requires completely vacuum-enclosed conditions. The sputtering method used for coating the glass sheet with ITO done at a constant temperature of 300˚ C.
The glass is coated on one side, to make it conductive while the other side of the glass remains insulated. FTO coated glass has a middle layer of silicon dioxide (SiO2), between the ITO layer and the borosilicate glass surface. This layer is essential for increasing the longevity and quality of the ITO coated glass plate.
Features of a standard FTO coated glass
The standard thickness of the coated layer is 25 nm. It can work efficiently till temperatures up to 350˚ C (662˚ Fahrenheit). Mostly, the FTO coated glass comes in rectangular and square shapes, and can also be customized into circular shape if required. This makes it efficient for numerous applications in solar cell making and research.
The conventional thickness of the float glass used for layering with ITO ranges between 1.1 mm to 0.5 mm. The ITO conductivity is affected by the surface resistance, which is reciprocal to conductivity.
The standard sizes for the square-shaped ITO coated glass sides are 25 mm, 50 mm, 100 mm, and 200 mm.
The standard sizes for the rectangular-shaped ITO coated glass are 50 mm x 25 mm and 75 mm x 25 mm. In the market, the largest ITO coated glass produced is 405 mm x 305 mm.
The specified surface resistance of the ITO coated conductive glass slides is between 10 ohms/sq and 100 ohms/sq. The transmittance factor of ITO coated glass coverslips at 550 nm is greater than 85%, offering optimum storage.
Use of ITO coated conductive glass slides in making organic solar cells
ITO coated conductive glass substrate ideally used in research, specifically in the development of Dye-sensitized or organic solar cells. There is a major demand from small and large research laboratories, industries and educational institutes for application in bulk.
