Spectroscopic analysis and thermoelectric properties of ITO/Cu/Ni/ITO multilayer by RF sputtering

In this paper, we present the effects of annealing in a vacuum on the structural, electrical, thermoelectric, optical and properties of a glass/ITO (40 nm)/Cu (5 nm)/Ni (10 nm)/ITO (40 nm) multilayer prepared on glass substrates at room temperature using the Radio Frequency (RF) sputtering technique. The effect of annealing in a vacuum is investigated. The structures of the ICNI were analyzed using X-Ray Reflectivity (XRR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Furthermore, the electrical and optical properties were characterized using the four-point probe measurement method and a UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer, respectively. The influence of the annealing temperature in a vacuum on transmittance, structural integrity, electrical behavior, energy band gap, resistivity, Seebeck coefficient, and figure of merit were investigated.