Wet Coating Deposition of ITO Coatings on Plastic Substrates

In₂O₃:Sn (ITO) transparent conducting coatings of high optical quality have been obtained on glass and several plastic substrates by spin and dip coating processes followed by a low temperature processing (T < 130°C). The sols are made of crystalline nanoparticles redispersable in an alcohol and modified by adding a binder to favour the coalescing of the particles and to allow the deposition of thick single layers (>400 nm). The smallest stable resistivity so far obtained is = 9 × 10^–2cm (sheet resistance of 1.6 k for a 570 nm thick single layer). The transparency in the visible range is high, T 87%, the abrasion resistance is in agreement with DIN 58-196-G10 and the hardness according to ASTM D 3363-92a is 1H. A spray process allows to obtain antiglare-conducting coatings with an adjustable gloss of 60 to 80 GU and an optical resolution >8 lines/mm.