基体温度对磁控溅射沉积ZAO薄膜性能的影响

利用中频交流磁控溅射方法 ,采用氧化锌铝陶瓷靶材 [w(ZnO) =98%、w(Al2 O3 ) =2 % ]制备了ZAO(ZnO∶Al)薄膜 ,观察了基体温度对ZAO薄膜的晶体结构、电学和光学性能的影响 ,采用X射线衍射仪对薄膜的结构进行了分析 ,采用光学分度计和电阻测试仪测量了薄膜的光学、电学特性 ,采用霍尔测试仪测量了薄膜的载流子浓度和霍尔迁移率。结果表明 :沉积薄膜时的基体温度对薄膜的结构、结晶状况、可见光透射率以及导电性有较大的影响。当基体温度为 2 5 0℃ ,Ar分压为 0 8Pa时 ,薄膜的最低电阻率为 4 6× 10 -4Ω·cm ,方块电阻为 35Ω时 ,可见光 (λ =5 5 0nm)透射率高达 92 0 %。     

溅射功率对ZnO:Al薄膜光电性能的影响

采用射频磁控溅射工艺,以Al掺杂ZnO(ZAO)陶瓷靶为靶材在石英玻璃基片上制备出具有优良光电性能的ZAO透明导电薄膜,研究了溅射功率对薄膜光电性能的影响。在不同溅射功率条件下制备的ZAO薄膜具有很好的c轴择优取向。较大功率溅射有利于薄膜晶粒尺寸的增大、电阻率降低。ZAO薄膜在可见光区的透过率平均值高达90%以上,受溅射功率影响不大。在340nm-420nm波长附近ZAO薄膜透过率急剧下降,呈现明显的紫外吸收边;高的溅射功率提高了ZAO薄膜的光学带隙宽度。     

ZAO透明导电薄膜的制备及性质

ZAO（ZnO：Al）透明导电薄膜是一种具有高的载离子浓度和宽禁带的半导体氧化物，电学和光学性能优异。极具应用前景。本文介绍了ZAO薄膜的制备现状、特性、磁控溅射参数对其电学和光学性质的影响以及今后研究的方向。     

工作气压对磁控溅射ZAO薄膜性能的影响

工作气压在ZnO∶Al(ZAO)薄膜制备过程中是一个重要的工艺参数,直接决定着薄膜的性能。本文利用中频交流磁控溅射方法,采用氧化锌铝(ZnO与Al2O3的质量比为98∶2)陶瓷靶材,在基体温度为250℃,工作气压范围为0.2～8.0Pa条件下,制备了ZAO薄膜。利用X射线衍射仪和原子力显微镜对薄膜的结构和形貌进行了分析和观察,利用分光光度计和霍尔测试仪测量了薄膜的光学和电学性能,研究了制备薄膜时不同的工作气压(氩气压力PAr)对薄膜的结构、形貌、光学性能和电学性能的影响。结果表明:随着工作气压的增加,薄膜的电阻率先略有下降然后上升,相应地,载流子浓度和迁移率先略有上升然后下降,而可见光谱平均透过率保持在80%以上。当基体温度为250℃,氩气压力为0.8Pa时,薄膜的电阻率最低,为4.6×10-4Ω·cm,方块电阻为32Ω时,在范围为490～600nm的可见光谱内的平均透过率可达90.0%。     

新型透明导电氧化物薄膜Nb-TiO2的研究进展

新型透明导电氧化物薄膜Nb-TiO2因其优异的光电性能成为当今研究的热门材料.本文详细阐述了Nb-TiO2薄膜的光电性能、影响Nb-TiO2光电特性的因素与机理以及目前的研究进展、前沿动态等,着重讨论了载流子浓度及其散射过程对光学透过率和导电性能的影响.     

双靶反应磁控共溅射制备Al掺杂ZnO薄膜及其光电性能

采用双靶反应磁控共溅射法在Si（100）和载玻片衬底上制备了Al掺杂ZnO（ZAO）薄膜,利用X射线衍射仪（XRD）、原子力显微镜（AFM）、荧光分光光度计、紫外可见光分光光度计,四探针测试仪等手段对薄膜进行表征,研究了Al掺杂对ZnO薄膜结构和光电性能的影响。结果显示,Al掺杂未改变ZnO的晶体结构,ZAO薄膜沿（002）晶面生长,具有单一的紫光发射峰,在可见光区透过率大于80%,当Zn靶和Al靶溅射功率分别为100 W和20W时,ZAO薄膜的电阻率为8.85×10-4W.cm,表明利用双靶反应磁控共溅射法制备的ZAO薄膜具有较好的光电性能。     

磁控溅射工艺参数对ZAO薄膜性能的影响

通过磁控溅射氧化铝锌陶瓷靶材的方法在玻璃基片上制备ZAO薄膜,研究了溅射电流、溅射气压、基片温度对ZAO膜电学及光学性能的影响,使用X射线衍射仪分析了薄膜相结构,使用台阶仪测试薄膜厚度,使用四探针方阻仪测试薄膜电阻率,采用紫外可见分光光度计测试薄膜透过率。结果表明:溅射电流增加可以改善ZAO薄膜的透过率与电阻率;溅射气压对薄膜的结晶性和透过率影响不大,但电阻率会随溅射气压的增大而上升;基体温度升高可以提高AZO薄膜的透过率与电导率。     

Nb-Zn-Sn-O非晶薄膜的生长与性能

采用射频磁控溅射技术,成功制备出能用作薄膜晶体管(TFT)沟道层的非晶态Nb-ZnSn-O(NZTO)薄膜。研究了溅射压强、退火处理对NZTO薄膜的材料结构、电学和光学性能的影响,并在溅射功率为120W、溅射压强为0.6Pa且在400℃温度下退火2h后,制备出了电子迁移率达5.5cm2v-1s-1、载流子浓度在1017以下且可见光透射率为80%以上的薄膜。     

氧掺杂对磁控溅射ZAO薄膜性能的影响

通过磁控溅射氧化铝锌陶瓷靶材的方法在玻璃基片上制备ZAO薄膜,研究了不同氧掺杂量对于ZAO膜电学及光学性能的影响,使用X射线衍射仪衍射分析了薄膜相结构,使用四探针方阻仪测试薄膜的方阻,采用紫外可见分光光度计测试薄膜透过率。结果表明:在通入较低氧分量时对ZAO薄膜结晶性能及光电性能没有太大的影响,但随着氧分量的增加ZAO薄膜性能急剧下降。     

退火温度与ZAO透明导电薄膜晶体结构及特性关系的研究

用射频磁控溅射ZAO陶瓷靶的方法在石英衬底上成功制备了ZAO透明导电薄膜。用X射线衍射仪（XRD）、紫外可见（UV—Vis）分光光度计、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）、原子力显微镜（AEM）等手段，研究了薄膜的晶体结构、光学禁带宽度、表面和断面形貌与退火温度的变化关系。结果表明，低温段300℃以下退火的薄膜c轴较ZnO体材料有拉长现象；高温度段500℃到600℃退火的薄膜的晶粒直径变化平稳，其中500℃退火时，c轴也有拉长的效应，且形成良好的c轴趋向柱状晶薄膜；2．50℃退火时薄膜的光学禁带宽度最大，薄膜表面均匀致密，晶粒充分团聚结晶。     

Preparation and character of textured ZnO:Al thin films deposited on flexible substrates by RF magnetron sputtering

ZnO:Al thin films deposited on transparent TPT substrates by magnetron sputtering were etched in acetic acid solution. The effects of etching solution concentration and etching time on the structure and properties of ZnO:Al films were investigated. The obtained films had a hexagonal structure and a highly preferred orientation with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The ZAO film etched in 1% acetic acid solution for 10 s had a pyramidal structure and an enhanced light scattering ability, the average transmittance and reflectance in the visible region were 72% and 26% respectively, the sheet resistance was 260 Ω/□. Both transmittance and reflectance of the films decreased as the etching solution concentration and etching time increasing. Etching had a negative effect on the conductive properties of ZAO films. The lowest sheet resistance was 120 Ω/□ for the ZAO film without etching.     

The fabrication and application of ZnO:Al thin films in low-frequency inductively coupled plasma fabricated silicon solar cell

A home-made radio frequency magnetron sputtering is used to systematically study the structural, electrical, and optical properties of aluminum doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films. The intensity of the (002) peak exhibits a remarkable enhancement with increasing film thickness. Upon optimization, we achieved low resistivity of 4.2 × 10^− 4 Ω cm and high transmittance of ~ 88% for ZnO:Al films. Based on the present experimental data, the carrier transport mechanism is discussed. It is found that the grain boundary scattering needs to be considered because the mean free path of free carrier is comparable to the grain size. The 80 nm-ZnO:Al thin films are then deposited onto low-frequency inductively coupled plasma fabricated silicon solar cells to assess the effect of ZnO:Al thin films on the performance of the solar cells. Optimized ZnO:Al thin films are identified as transparent and conductive oxide thin film layers.     

Nitrogen effect on spin-coated ZnO-based p–n homojunctions: structural,optical and electrical characteristics

In this work, ZnO:Al–N/ZnO:Al and ZnO:Ag–N/ZnO:Al homojunctions were deposited by means of spin coating method using precursors obtained by sol gel chemistry. The optical, structural and electrical properties of spin coated undoped and M-doped ZnO thin films (M?=?Al, Ag–N and Al–N) using ammonium hydroxide as a nitrogen source are reported. The films showed the wurtzite type structure with a c-axis (002) preferential orientation. The films showed a surface morphology consisting of wrinkles, which were constituted of nanocrystals in the range of ～?20 nm. The thin films were highly transparent in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The optical band gap of the films was close to 3.30 eV. Hall Effect measurements indicated that undoped and Al doped ZnO thin films showed an n-type conductivity, whereas ZnO:Al–N and ZnO:Ag–N thin films exhibited p-type conductivity, probably related to the formation of dual acceptor complexes related to nitrogen. Two types of p–n homojunctions (ZnO:Al–N/ZnO:Al and ZnO:Ag–N/ZnO:Al) were fabricated by means of sol–gel spin-coating method. In both cases, a rectifying behavior was observed, as revealed by current–voltage measurements.     

Humid environment stability of low pressure chemical vapor deposited boron doped zinc oxide used as transparent electrodes in thin film silicon solar cells

The stability in humid environment of low pressure chemical vapor deposited boron doped zinc oxide (LPCVD ZnO:B) used as transparent conductive oxide in thin film silicon solar cells is investigated. Damp heat treatment (exposure to humid and hot atmosphere) induces a degradation of the electrical properties of unprotected LPCVD ZnO:B layers. By combining analyses of the electrical and optical properties of the films, we are able to attribute this behavior to an increase of electron grain boundary scattering. This is in contrast to the intragrain scattering mechanisms, which are not affected by damp heat exposure. The ZnO stability is enhanced for heavily doped films due to easier tunneling through potential barrier at grain boundaries.     

Plasma emission monitoring (PEM) controlled DC reactive sputtered ZnO:Al thin films

High deposition rate ZnO:Al films have been produced at room temperature by reactive DC sputtering using a plasma emission monitoring (PEM) control system. We have investigated the relationship between structural, optical and electrical properties of the ZnO:Al films. Crystal structures of the films have been studied by X-ray diffraction. Optimum ZnO:Al films, with 17-40 Ω/□ sheet resistance range and transmittance approaching 88% in the visible region, exhibited a hexagonal ZnO structure with preferential (002) orientation and crystallite sizes of about 27 nm. Resistive transparent films displayed a more random orientation showing peaks at (100) and (102) orientations. Dark “metallic” films were shown to consist of mainly zinc. The optimal ZnO:Al film has been determined from a figure of merit based on power losses due to absorption and series resistance in the ZnO:Al films. It is highly transparent, with low resistance, pronounced (002) peak and large crystallite size.     

Electrical and optical properties of ZnO:Al thin films grown by magnetron sputtering

The properties of transparent conductive ZnO:Al thin films grown by R.F. magnetron sputtering method are investigated. The working pressure (argon gas) is changed from 2.5 to 40.0 mTorr to study its influence on the characteristics of ZnO:Al thin films. The ZnO:Al thin films have better texture due to the increase in the surface mobility, which resulted from the increase in the mean free path of sputtering gas under lower working pressure. The microstructure of ZnO:Al films is found to be affected obviously by changing the working pressure. It is shown that the grain size of ZnO:Al thin films decreases with the increase of working pressure. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that the poor crystallized structure of ZnO:Al films is obtained at higher working pressure. Except 40 mTorr, the highly (002)-oriented ZnO:Al thin films can be found at the measured range of working pressure. Moreover, the growth rate of the films decreases from 1.5 to 0.5 nm/min as the working pressure increases from 2.5 to 40.0 mTorr. The results of optical transmittance measurement of ZnO:Al thin films reveal a high transmittance (>80%) in visible region and exhibit a sharp absorption edge at wavelength about 350 nm.     

Polycrystalline ZnO: B grown by LPCVD as TCO for thin film silicon solar cells

Conductive zinc oxide (ZnO) grown by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technique possesses a rough surface that induces an efficient light scattering in thin film silicon (TF Si) solar cells, which makes this TCO an ideal candidate for contacting such devices. IMT-EPFL has developed an in-house LPCVD process for the deposition of nanotextured boron doped ZnO films used as rough TCO for TF Si solar cells. This paper is a general review and synthesis of the study of the electrical, optical and structural properties of the ZnO:B that has been performed at IMT-EPFL.The influence of the free carrier absorption and the grain size on the electrical and optical properties of LPCVD ZnO:B is discussed. Transport mechanisms at grain boundaries are studied. It is seen that high doping of the ZnO grains facilitates the tunnelling of the electrons through potential barriers that are located at the grain boundaries. Therefore, even if these potential barriers increase after an exposition of the film to a humid atmosphere, the heavily doped LPCVD ZnO:B layers show a remarkable stable conductivity. However, the introduction of diborane in the CVD reaction induces also a degradation of the intra-grain mobility and increases over-proportionally the optical absorption of the ZnO:B films. Hence, the necessity to finely tune the doping level of LPCVD ZnO:B films is highlighted. Finally, the next challenges to push further the optimization of LPCVD ZnO:B films for thin film silicon solar cells are discussed, as well as some remarkable record cell results achieved with LPCVD ZnO:B as front electrode.     

Influence of RF power on structural,morphology, electrical,composition and optical properties of Al-doped ZnO films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

In this study, influence of RF power on the structural, morphology, electrical, composition and optical properties of Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering have been investigated. Films were systematically and carefully investigated by using variety of characterization techniques such as low angle X-ray diffraction, UV–visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Hall measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy etc. Low angle X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the films are polycrystalline with hexagonal wurtzite structure and which was further confirmed by Raman spectroscopy analysis. Its preferred orientation shifts from (102) to (002) with increase in RF power. The average grain size was found in the range of 15–21 nm over the entire range of RF power studied. The FE-SEM analysis showed that grain size and surface roughness of ZnO:Al films increase in with increase in RF power. The UV–visible spectroscopy analysis revealed that all films exhibit transmittance >85 % in the visible region. The optical band gap increases from 3.37 to 3.85 eV when RF power increased from 75 to 225 W. Hall measurements showed that the minimum resistivity has been achieved for the film deposited at 200 W. The improvement in the electrical properties may attribute to increase in the carrier concentration and Hall mobility. Based on the experimental results, the RF power of 200 W appears to be an optimum sputtering power for the growth of ZnO:Al films. At this optimum sputtering power ZnO:Al films having minimum resistivity (8.61 × 10^?4 Ω-cm), highly optically transparent (~87 %) were obtained at low substrate temperature (60 °C) at moderately high deposition rate (22.5 nm/min). These films can be suitable for the application in the flexible electronic devices such as TCO layer on LEDs, solar cells, TFT-LCDs and touch panels.     

Effect of metal (Al, Ga, and In)-dopants and/or Ag-nanoparticles on the optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films

ZnO thin films were deposited by a sol-gel process using zinc acetate dihydrate and 2-methoxyethanol as starting precursor and solvent, respectively. Ag-nanoparticles were prepared with uniform size (4.4 nm) by the spontaneous reduction method of Ag 2-ethylhexanoate in Dimethyl sulfoxide. The optical and electrical characteristics of ZnO films with the introduction of 3A metal (Al, Ga, and In)-dopants and/or Ag-nanoparticles were evaluated. The optical and electrical properties of metal-doped ZnO films were improved and light scatter, charge emission and the scattering behavior of Ag-nanoparticles incorporated into the ZnO thin film were measured. The introduction of Ag-nanoparticles into metal-doped ZnO films induced a slight decrease in the optical transmittance but an increase in the electrical sheet resistance.     

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide films grown by atomic layer deposition for transparent electrode applications

We obtained zinc oxide films doped with aluminum using atomic layer deposition (ALD). Their morphology, growth mode, optical and electrical properties are studied. Al content dependence is analyzed. Carrier scattering mechanisms in ZnO:Al (AZO) films are investigated from conductivity versus temperature measurements. We also discuss how the film thickness affects its resistivity and optical transmission. The obtained film resistivities, i.e. 7 × 10^?4 ??cm, belong to the lowest reported so far for transparent ZnO:Al films grown by the ALD method.