Quality enhancement of AZO thin films at various thicknesses by introducing ITO buffer layer

Due to the simultaneously superior optical transmittance and low electrical resistivity, transparent conductive electrodes play a significant role in semiconductor electronics. To enhance the electrical properties of these films, one approach is thickness increment which degrades the optical properties. However, a preferred way to optimize both electrical and optical properties of these layers is to introduce a buffer layer. In this work, the effects of buffer layer and film thickness on the structural, electrical, optical and morphological properties of AZO thin films are investigated. Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) is prepared at various thicknesses of 100 to 300 nm on the bare and 100 nm-thick indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates by radio frequency sputtering. Results demonstrate that by introducing ITO as a buffer layer, the average values of sheet resistance and strain within the film are decreased (about 76 and 3.3 times lower than films deposited on bare glasses), respectively. Furthermore, the average transmittance of ITO/AZO bilayer is improved nearly 10% regarding single AZO thin film. This indicates that bilayer thin films show better physical properties rather than conventional monolayer thin films. As the AZO film thickness increases, the interplanar spacing, d₍₀₀₂₎, strain within the film and compressive stress of the film in the hexagonal lattice, decreases indicating the higher yield of AZO crystal. Moreover, with the growth in film thickness, carrier concentration and optical band gap (E_g) of AZO film are increased from 4.62?×?10¹⁹ to 8.21?×?10¹⁹ cm^?3 and from 3.55 to 3.62 eV, respectively due to the Burstein-Moss (BM) effect. The refractive index of AZO thin film is obtained in the range of 2.24–2.26. With the presence of ITO buffer layer, the AZO thin film exhibits a resistivity as low as 6?×?10^?4 Ω cm, a sheet resistance of 15 Ω/sq and a high figure of merit (FOM) of 1.19?×?10⁴ (Ω cm)^?1 at a film thickness of 300 nm. As a result, the quality of AZO thin films deposited on ITO buffer layer is found to be superior regarding those grown on a bare glass substrate. This study has been performed over these two substrates because of their significant usage in the organic light emitting diodes and photovoltaic applications as an enhanced carrier injecting electrodes.     

Characterization of aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films by RF magnetron sputtering at different substrate temperature and sputtering power

In this study, transparent conductive Al doped zinc oxide (ZnO: Al, AZO) thin films with a thickness of 40 nm were prepared on the Corning glass substrate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The properties of the AZO thin films are investigated at different substrate temperatures (from 27 to 150 °C) and sputtering power (from 150 to 250 W). The structural, optical and electrical properties of the AZO thin films were investigated. The optical transmittance of about 78 % (at 415 nm)–92.5 % (at 630 nm) in the visible range and the electrical resistivity of 7 × 10^?4 Ω-cm (175.2 Ω/sq) were obtained at sputtering power of 250 W and substrate temperature of 70 °C. The observed property of the AZO thin films is suitable for transparent conductive electrode applications.     

Transparent conductive and infrared reflective AZO/Cu/AZO multilayer film prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

AZO/Cu/AZO multilayer films were prepared on glass substrate by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technology. The prepared films were investigated by a four-point probe system, X-ray diffraction, optical transmittance spectra, scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that Cu inner layer started forming a continuous film at the thickness around 11 nm. The prepared AZO/Cu/AZO samples exhibited the visible transmittance of 60–80 % and sample with 15 nm Cu inner layer showed the highest infrared reflection rate of 67 % in FIR region and the lowest sheet resistance of 16.6 Ω/sq. The proper visible transmittance and infrared reflection property of the AZO/Cu/AZO multilayer film make it a promising candidate for future energy conservation materials.     

Passivation and antireflection AZO:H layer in AZO:H/p-Si heterojunction solar cells

In this work, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO)/p-Si heterojunction solar cells were prepared by sputtering of ~120 nm AZO thin films in Ar or Ar–H₂ atmosphere on textured p-Si wafers, and the effects of hydrogen incorporation on the solar cell performance were investigated. Results showed that the performance of AZO/p-Si heterojunction solar cells was improved with the increase of hydrogen volume concentration from 0 to 23 %. The AZO:H/p-Si heterojunction solar cells prepared in Ar–23 % H₂ exhibited a short-circuit current density of 29 mA/cm² and a conversion efficiency of 2.84 %. The reflectance measurement indicated that the reflectance of p-Si surface in the range of 400–1,100 nm decreased from 13 to 4 % after AZO:H films coating; and the capacitance–voltage measurement indicated that the density of defect states at AZO/p-Si interface was decreased after hydrogen incorporation. Passivation and antireflection functions can be realized in AZO:H films deposited in Ar–H₂, which opens a novel route to prepare cost-effective AZO/p-Si heterojunction solar cells.     

Nonlinear optical investigations on Al doping ratio in ZnO thin film under pulsed Nd:YAG laser irradiation

In the present study, it has been reported on the effect of Al doping on linear and nonlinear optical properties of ZnO thin films synthesized by spray pyrolysis method. The structural properties of ZnO thin films with different Al doping levels (0–4 wt%) were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results obtained from XRD analysis indicated that the grain size decreased as the Al doping value increased. The UV–Vis diffused refraction spectroscopy was used for calculation of band gap. The optical band gap of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films is increased from 3.26 to 3.31 eV with increasing the Al content from 0 to 4 wt%. The measurements of nonlinear optical properties of AZO thin films have been performed using a nanosecond Nd:YAG pulse laser at 532 nm by the Z-scan technique. The undoped ZnO thin film exhibits reverse saturation absorption (RSA) whereas the AZO thin films exhibit saturation absorption (SA) that shows RSA to SA process with adding Al to ZnO structure under laser irradiation. On the other hand, all the films showed a self-defocusing phenomenon because the photons of laser stay on below the absorption edge of the ZnO and AZO films. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, χ⁽³⁾, of AZO thin films, was varied from of the order of 10^?5–10^?4 esu. The results suggest that AZO thin films may be promising candidates for nonlinear optical applications.     

The properties of Al doped ZnO thin films deposited on various substrate materials by RF magnetron sputtering

Transparent conductive Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films were deposited on various substrates including glass, polyimide film (PI) and stainless steel, using radio frequency magnetron sputtering method. The structural, electrical and optical properties of AZO thin films grown on various substrates were systematically investigated. We observe that substrate materials play important roles in film crystallization and resistivity but little on optical transmittance. X-ray diffractometer study shows that all obtained AZO thin films have wurtzite phase with highly c-axis preferred orientation, and films on glass present the strongest (002) diffraction peaks. The presence of compression stress plays critical role in determining the crystalline structure of AZO films, which tends to stretch the lattice constant c and enlarge the (002) diffraction angle. Although the films on the glass present the finest electrical properties and the resistivity reaches 12.52 × 10-4 Ωm, AFM study manifests that films on flexible substrates, especially stainless steel, bestrew similar inverted pyramid structure which are suitable for window material and electrode of solar cells. The average optical transmittance of AZO thin films deposited on glass and PI are both around 85% in the visible light range (400–800 nm).     

Ag层厚度对AZO/Ag/AZO透明导电薄膜性能的影响

在室温条件下,采用磁控溅射技术在玻璃衬底上生长了AZO/Ag/AZO多层透明导电薄膜。主要研究了Ag层厚度对多层透明导电薄膜结构和性能的影响。研究表明,AZO和Ag分别延(002)面和(111)面高度择优生长,随着Ag层厚度的增加,多层透明导电薄膜的电阻率不断降低,透过率呈现先降低再增加最后再降低的变化趋势,其中Ag层厚度为8nm的样品获得最大品质因子33.1×10^-3Ω^-1,综合性能最佳。     

Electrical,optical, and structural properties of thin films with tri-layers of AZO/ZnMgO/AZO grown by filtered vacuum arc deposition

Transparent conductive oxides (TCO) are indispensable as front electrode for most of thin film electronic devices such as transparent electrodes for flat panel displays, photovoltaic cells, windshield defrosters, transparent thin film transistors, and low emissivity windows. Thin films of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) have shown to be one of the most promising TCOs. In this study, three layered Al-doped ZnO (AZO)/ZnMgO/AZO heterostructures were prepared by filtered cathodic arc deposition (FCAD) on glass substrates. The objective is to find a set of parameters that will allow for improved optical and electrical properties of the films such as low resistivity, high mobility, high number of charge carriers, and high transmittance. We have investigated the effect of modifications in thickness and doping of the ZnMgO inner layer on the structural, electrical, and optical characteristics of the stacked heterostructures.     

Effect of Cu layer thickness on the structural, optical and electrical properties of AZO/Cu/AZO tri-layer films

Highly conducting AZO/Cu/AZO tri-layer films were successfully deposited on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) and ion-beam sputtering of Cu at room temperature. The microstructures of the AZO/Cu/AZO multilayer films were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). X-Ray diffraction measurements indicate that the AZO layers in the tri-layer films are polycrystalline with the ZnO hexagonal structure and have a preferred orientation with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrates. With the increase of Cu thickness, the crystallinity of AZO and Cu layers is simultaneously improved. When the Cu thickness increases from 3 to 13 nm, the resistivity decreases initially and then varies little, and the average transmittance shows a first increase and then decreases. The maximum figure of merit achieved is 1.94 × 10⁻² Ω⁻¹ for a Cu thickness of 8 nm with a resistivity of 7.92 × 10⁻⁵ Ω cm and an average transmittance of 84%.     

The effects of the aluminium concentration on optical and electrical properties of AZO thin films as a transparent conductive layer

In this paper, we studied the effects of the aluminium dopant concentration on the optical and electrical properties of aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films grown on soda-glass substrates by a simple chemical method. The amount of aluminium in the compound was varied from 0 to 5 atomic percent (at.%), and the typical thickness of the films produced was about 300 nm. The thin films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction to investigate the morphology and crystallinity of the samples. The optical properties of the thin films were studied by UV–Vis spectroscopy to determinate absorption, transmittance, and the diffuse reflectance. In addition, the photoluminescence properties of the thin films, excited with a 320 nm UV laser beam, were investigated. The effects of the aluminium concentration on these optical properties are discussed. The films with 2 and 5 % doping had excellent optical transmittance (~85–90 %) in the 400–1100 nm wavelength range. The photoluminescence spectra of the AZO films revealed UV near band edge emission peaks in the 378–401 nm range and an oxygen-vacancy related peak around 471 nm. The addition of aluminium changed the band gap of zinc oxide from 3.29 to 3.41 eV, and the appearance of a new level was observed in the band gap at the higher aluminium doping concentrations. The AZO thin films showed good conductivity (in the order of 10^?2 Ω cm) which allows their use as transparent electrodes. Moreover, the AZO thin films were stable in open air for 30 days.     

Low-temperature preparation of transparent conductive Al-doped ZnO thin films by a novel sol–gel method

We developed a novel sol–gel method to prepare transparent conductive Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin film at low temperature. The AZO nanocrystals were prepared by a solvothermal method and then they were dispersed in the monoethanolamine and methanol to form AZO colloids. A (002)-oriented ZnO thin film was used as a nucleation layer to induce the (002)-oriented growth of AZO thin films. The AZO thin films were prepared on Si(100) and fused quartz glass substrates with the (002)-oriented ZnO nucleation layer and annealed at 400 °C for 60 min. All AZO thin films showed (002) orientation. For electrical and optical measurements, the films deposited on glass substrates were post-annealed at 400 °C for 30 min in forming gas (100 % H₂) to improve their conductivity. These samples had high transparency in the visible wavelength range, and also showed good conductivity. A 0.2 mol L^?1 AZO solution with 3 at.% Al content was heated in a Teflon autoclave at 160 °C for 30 min to form AZO nanocrystals, and then the AZO nanocrystals were suspended in the MEA and methanol to obtain the stable AZO colloid. The Al content in the AZO nanocrystals was 2.7 at.%, and the high Al doping coefficient was mainly attributed to the formation of AZO nanocrystals in the autoclave. The AZO thin film using this colloid had the lowest resistivity of 3.89 × 10^?3 Ω cm due to its high carrier concentration of 3.29 × 10²⁰ cm^?3.     

The characteristics of transparent conducting Al-doped zinc oxide thin films deposited on polymer substrates

Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) transparent, conductive thin films were deposited on inexpensive polyethylene terephthalate substrates, using radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering, with an AZO ceramic target (the Al₂O₃ content is approximately 2 wt%). This paper presents an effective method for the optimization of the parameters for the deposition process for AZO thin films with multiple performance characteristics, using the Taguchi method, combined with grey relational analysis. Using the Taguchi quality design concept, an L₉ orthogonal array was chosen for the experiments. The effects of various process parameters (rf power, substrate-to-target distance, substrate temperature and deposition time) on the electrical, structural, morphological and optical properties of AZO films were investigated. In the confirmation runs, using grey relational analysis, the electrical resistivity of the AZO films was found to have decreased from 5.0?×?10^?3 to 1.6?×?10^?3?Ω-cm and the optical transmittance was found to have increased from 74.39 to 79.40%. The results demonstrate that the Taguchi method combined with grey relational analysis is an economical way to obtain the multiple performance characteristics of AZO films with the fewest experimental data. Additionally, by applying an Al buffer layer, of thickness 10?nm, the results show that the electrical resistivity was 3.1?×?10^?4?Ω-cm and the average optical transmittance, in the visible part of the spectrum, was approximately 79.12%.     

Structural evolution,electrical and optical properties of AZO films deposited by sputtering ultra-high density target

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) target was fabricated using AZO nanopowders synthesized by co-precipitation method and then the AZO films with different thicknesses were deposited on glass by d.c. magnetron sputtering at room temperature. AZO target is nodules free and shows homogeneous microstructure, ultra-high density and low resistivity. ZnAl₂O₄ phase appears in AZO target and disappears in AZO films. All AZO films show c-axis preferred orientation and hexagonal structure. With increasing film thickness from 153 to 1404 nm, the crystallinity was improved and the angle of (002) peak was close to 34.45°. The increase in grain size and surface roughness is due to the increase in film thickness. The decrease of resistivity is ascribed to the increases of carrier concentration and Hall mobility. The lowest resistivity is 9.6 × 10^?4 Ω·cm. The average transmittance of AZO films exceeds 80%, and a sharp fundamental absorption edge with red-shifting is observed in the visible range. The bandgap decreases from 3.26 to 3.02 eV.     

Texturization of ZnO:Al surface by reactive ion etching in SF<Subscript>6</Subscript>/Ar,CHF<Subscript>3</Subscript>/Ar plasma for application in thin film silicon solar cells

As-deposited sputtered ZnO:Al (AZO) thin films having high transparency (T?≥?85% at 550 nm of wavelength) and good electrical properties (ρ?=?2.59?×?10^?04 Ω cm) are etched to get suitable light trapping in thin film solar cells, using reactive ion etching method in sulfur hexafluoride–argon (SF₆/Ar) plasma and trifluoromethane–argon (CHF₃/Ar) plasma to texture their surface. Though the electrical properties of the films are not affected much by the etching process but significant increment in the average haze values in the wave length range of 350–1100 nm in the etched AZO films (19.21% for SF₆/Ar and 22.07% for CHF₃/Ar plasma etched) are found compared to as-deposited AZO films (5.61%). Increment in haze value is due to more scattering of light from the textured surface. These textured substrates are used as front transparent conducting oxide electrode for the fabrication of amorphous silicon solar cells. Solar cells fabricated on etched AZO substrates show 7.76% increase in conversion efficiency compared to as-deposited AZO substrates.     

Room temperature deposition and properties of ZnO:Al thin films by nonreactive DC magnetron sputtering

Transparent and conductive ZnO:Al (AZO) thin films were prepared at room temperature by nonreactive DC magnetron sputtering from ceramic ZnO:Al targets. The effects of Al doping level and argon gas pressure on microstructure, growth behavior, resistivity and transmittance of AZO thin films were investigated. The experimental results show that AZO thin films change from polycrystalline to preferred c-axis-orientation just at high argon gas pressure. The resistivity of AZO films first decreases with the increase of Al content under 3 wt%, then increases when the Al content is over 3 wt%. The argon gas pressure also effect on the resistivity of AZO thin films due to the change of dispersion related the grain and crystal boundary. When the argon gas pressure from 0.6 to 3.0 Pa, the resistivity of AZO films decreases to a lowest resistivity of 1.4 × 10⁻³ Ω cm when the argon gas pressure is 1.5 Pa, then increases gently. The Al content and argon gas pressure had a little influence on transmittance, and the average optical transmittances of AZO thin films were from 86% to 90%, but the absorption edge has a blue shift with the increase of doping level and argon gas pressure.     

Structural, optical and electrical properties of AZO/Cu/AZO tri-layer films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering and ion-beam sputtering

Highly conducting tri-layer films consisting of a Cu layer sandwiched between Al-doped ZnO (AZO) layers (AZO/Cu/AZO) were prepared on glass substrates at room temperature by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering of AZO and ion-beam sputtering of Cu. The tri-layer films have superior photoelectric properties compared with the bi-layer films (Cu/AZO, AZO/Cu) and single AZO films. The effect of AZO thickness on the properties of the tri-layer films was discussed. The X-ray diffraction spectra show that all films are polycrystalline consisting of a Cu layer with the cubic structure and two AZO layers with the ZnO hexagonal structure having a preferred orientation of (0 0 2) along the c-axis, and the crystallite size and the surface roughness increase simultaneously with the increase of AZO thickness. When the AZO thickness increases from 20 to 100 nm, the average transmittance increases initially and then decreases. When the fixed Cu thickness is 8 nm and the optimum AZO thickness of 40 nm was found, a resistivity of 7.92 × 10⁻⁵ Ω cm and an average transmittance of 84% in the wavelength range of visible spectrum of tri-layer films have been obtained. The merit figure (F_TC) for revaluing transparent electrodes can reach to 1.94 × 10⁻² Ω⁻¹.     

Effect of ZnO buffer layer on AZO film properties and photovoltaic applications

Aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) transparent conducting films were deposited on glass substrates with and without intrinsic ZnO (i-ZnO) buffer layers by a home made and low cost radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering system at room temperature in pure argon ambient and under a low vacuum level. The films were examined and characterized for electrical, optical, and structural properties for the application of CIGS solar cells. The influence of sputter power, deposition pressure, film thickness and residual pressure on electrical and optical properties of layered films of AZO, i-ZnO and AZO/i-ZnO was investigated. The optimization of coating process parameters (RF power, sputtering pressure, thickness) was carried out. The effects of i-ZnO buffer layer on AZO films were investigated. By inserting thin i-ZnO layers with a thickness not greater than 125 nm under the AZO layers, both the carrier concentration and Hall mobility were increased. The resistivity of these layered films was lower than that of single layered AZO films. The related mechanisms and plasma physics were discussed. Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells were fabricated by incorporating bi-layer ZnO films on CdS/CIGS/Mo/glass substrates. Efficiencies of the order of 7–8% were achieved for the manufactured CIGS solar cells (4–5 cm² in size) without antireflective films. The results demonstrated that RF sputtered layered AZO/i-ZnO films are suitable for application in low cost CIGS solar cells as transparent conductive electrodes.     

Optical and hall properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition with various substrate temperatures

The 3 wt% Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were fabricated on quartz substrates at a fixed oxygen pressure of 200 mTorr with various substrate temperatures (room temp. ～500 °C) by using pulsed laser deposition in order to investigate the microstructure, optical, and electrical properties of AZO thin films. All thin films were shown to be c-axis oriented, exhibiting only a (002) diffraction peak. The AZO thin film, fabricated at 200 mTorr and 400 °C, showed the highest (002) orientation and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (002) diffraction peak was 0.42°. The c-axis lattice constant decreased with increasing substrate temperature. The electrical property indicated that the highest carrier concentration (1.27 × 10²¹ cm^?3) and the lowest resistivity (6.72 × 10^?4 Ωcm) were obtained in the AZO thin film fabricated at 200 mTorr and 400 °C. The optical transmittance in the visible region was higher than 80 %. The Burstein-Moss effect, which shifts to a high photon energy, was observed.     

Microstructure and properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films by nonreactive DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature following rapid thermal annealing

A series of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films deposited by nonreactive DC magnetron sputtering at room temperature following rapid thermal annealing was studied to examine the influence of these Al doping concentration, sputtering power and annealing temperature on their microstructure, electrical and optical transport properties. AZO thin films with Al dopant of 3 wt% were oriented more preferentially along the (002) direction, bigger grain size and lower electrical resistivity The resistivity of AZO films decreases with the increase of Al content from 1 to 3 wt%, sputtering power from 60 to 100 W and the annealing temperature from 50 to 250 °C. Sputtering power and annealing had some effect on the average transmittance of AZO thin films. For AZO thin films with Al doping level of 3 wt%, the lowest electrical resistivity of 5.3 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and the highest optical transmittance of 88.7% could gain when the sputtering power was 100 W and the annealing temperature was 200 °C or above.     

Effect of Al concentrations on the electrodeposition and properties of transparent Al-doped ZnO thin films

Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films are prepared on polycrystalline fluorine-doped tin oxide-coated conducting glass substrates from nitrates baths by the electrodeposition process at 70 °C. The electrochemical, morphological, structural and optical properties of the AZO thin films were investigated in terms of different Al concentration in the starting solution. It was found that the carrier density of AZO thin films varied between ?3.11 and ?5.56 × 10²⁰ cm^?3 when the Al concentration was between 0 and 5 at.%. Atomic force microscopy images reveal that the concentration of Al has a very significant influence on the surface morphology and roughness of thin AZO. X-ray diffraction spectra demonstrate preferential (002) crystallographic orientation having c-axis perpendicular to the surface of the substrate and average crystallites size of the films was about 33–54 nm. With increasing Al doping, AZO films have a strong improved crystalline quality. As compared to pure ZnO, Al-doped ZnO exhibited lower crystallinity and there is a shift in the (002) diffraction peak to higher angles. Due to the doping of Al of any concentration, the films were found to be showing >80 % transparency. As Al concentration increased the optical band gap was also found to be increase from 3.22 to 3.47 eV. The room-temperature photoluminescence spectra indicated that the introduction of Al can improve the intensity of ultraviolet (UV) emission, thus suggesting its greater prospects in UV optoelectronic devices. A detailed comparison and apprehension of electrochemical, optical and structural properties of ZnO and ZnO:Al thin films is done for the determination of optimum concentration of Al doping.