Aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films prepared by sol-gel and RF magnetron sputtering

G. M. Wu, Y. F. Chen, H. C. Lu

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have become technologically important materials due to their wide range of electrical and optical properties. The characteristics can be further adjusted by adequate doping processes. In this paper, aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films have been prepared on glass substrates using a sol-gel route and the radio-frequency magnetron sputtering process. The stoichiometry could be easily adjusted by controlling the nanosized precursor concentration and the thickness by dip-coating cycles. On the other hand, the mixed N2O/Ar plasma gas provided adequate N doping for the RF sputtering process. The results showed the low electrical resistivity of 21.5 ω cm with the carrier concentration of -3.21 × 1018 cm-3 for the n-type aluminium-doped zinc oxide film. They were 34.2 ω cm and +9:68 × 1016 cm-3 for the p-type aluminium-doped zinc oxide film. The optical transmittance has been as high as 85-90% in the 400-900 nm wavelength range. The aluminium-doped zinc oxide (2 at.% Al) films exhibited the hexagonal wurzite structure with (002) preferred crystal orientation. The electrical characteristics were depicted by the gradual increase in N and NO that occupy the oxygen vacancies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)149-152
Number of pages4
JournalActa Physica Polonica A
Volume120
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 07 2011

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films prepared by sol-gel and RF magnetron sputtering'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this