Influence of the sputtering pressure on the properties of transparent conducting zirconium-doped zinc oxide films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

Transparent conducting zirconium-doped zinc oxide films with high transparency and relatively low re-sistivity have been successfully prepared on water-cooled glass substrate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The Ar sputtering pressure was varied from 0.5 to 3 Pa. The crystallinity increases and the electri-cal resistivity decreases when the sputtering pressure increases from 0.5 to 2.5 Pa. The cystallinity decreases and the electrical resistivity increases when the sputtering pressure increases from 2.5 to 3 Pa. When the sputtering pressure The deposited films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and a preferred orientation perpendicular to the substrate.