Effect of process conditions on the optoelectronic characteristics of ZnO:Mo thin films prepared by pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering

The purpose of this study is to use pulsed magnetron sputtering to deposit transparent conductive ZnO:Mo (MZO) film on a Corning 1737 glass substrate. Various process parameters, including power, work pressure, pulsed frequency, film thickness, and substrate temperature, were analyzed for their effects on the microstructure and optoelectronic characteristics of MZO thin film. Experimental results show that MZO film with a low resistivity of approximately 8.9 × 10^− 4 Ω cm and a visible light transitivity of greater than 80% can be obtained using a Mo content of 1.77 wt.%, sputtering power of 100 W, work pressure of 0.4 Pa, pulsed frequency of 10 kHz, and film thickness of 500 nm without heating. The value of optical band gap of MZO increased upon increasing the crystallinity of the MZO thin film, and the range of the optical band gap of MZO thin film is from 3.30 to 3.35 eV.     

利用脉冲直流磁控溅射制备ZnO:Al薄膜的研究

利用中频脉冲直流磁控溅射法制备了平面ZnO:Al(AZO)透明导电薄膜,研究了沉积压力、衬底温度和溅射功率对AZO薄膜光电性能、薄膜稳定性的影响.结果表明:在较低沉积压力、衬底温度及溅射功率下,可获得具有低电阻率、高透过率、高稳定性的AZO薄膜.     

Influence of annealing temperature on the properties of ZnO:Zr films deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering

Transparent conducting zirconium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Zr) films were deposited on quartz substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The influence of post-annealing temperature on the structural, morphological, electrical and optical properties of ZnO:Zr films were investigated. When annealing temperature increases from room temperature to 573 K, the resistivity decreases obviously due to an improvement of the crystallinity. However, with further increase in annealing temperature, the crystallinity deteriorates leading to an increase in resistivity. The films annealed at the optimum annealing temperature of 573 K in vacuum have the lowest resistivity of 9.8 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and a high transmittance of above 92% in the visible range.     

Surface textured molybdenum doped zinc oxide thin films prepared for thin film solar cells using pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering

In this study, we examined the effect of etching on the electrical properties, transmittance, and scattering of visible light in molybdenum doped zinc oxide, ZnO:Mo (MZO) thin films prepared by pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering. We used two different etching solutions - KOH and HCl - to alter the surface texture of the MZO thin film so that it could trap light. The experimental results showed that an MZO film with a minimum resistivity of about 8.9 × 10^− 4 Ω cm and visible light transitivity of greater than 80% can be obtained without heating at a Mo content of 1.77 wt.%, sputtering power of 100 W, working pressure of 0.4 Pa, pulsed frequency of 10 kHz, and film thickness of 500 nm. To consider the effect of resistivity and optical diffuse transmittance, we performed etching of an 800 nm thick MZO thin film with 0.5 wt.% HCl for 3-6 s at 300 K. Consequently, we obtained a resistivity of 1.74-2.75 × 10^− 3 Ω cm, total transmittance at visible light of 67%-73%, diffuse transmittance at visible light of 25.1%-28.4%, haze value of 0.34-0.42, and thin film surface crater diameters of 220-350 nm.     

Effect of substrate temperature on the structure and optical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by reactive rf magnetron sputtering

Zinc Oxide films were deposited on quartz substrates by reactive rf magnetron sputtering of zinc target. The effect of substrate temperature on the crystallinity and band edge luminescence has been studied. The films deposited at 300 °C exhibited the strongest c-axis orientation. AFM and Raman studies indicated that the films deposited at 600 °C possess better overall crystallinity with reduction of optically active defects, leading to strong and narrow PL emission.     

Effects of heat treatment on properties of ITO films prepared by rf magnetron sputtering

Indium tin oxide (ITO) films were deposited on glass substrates by rf magnetron sputtering using a ceramic target (In₂O₃-SnO₂, 90-10 wt%) without extra heating. The post annealing was done in air and in vacuum, respectively. The effects of annealing on the structure, surface morphology, optical and electrical properties of the ITO films were studied. The results show that the increase of the annealing temperature improves the crystallinity of the films, increases the surface roughness, and improves the optical and electrical properties. The transmittance of the films in visible region is increased over 90% after the annealing process in air or in vacuum. The resistivity of the films deposited is about 8.125×10⁻⁴ Ω cm and falls down to 2.34×10⁻⁴ Ω cm as the annealing temperature is increased to 500°C in vacuum. Compared with the results of the ITO films annealed in air, the properties of the films annealed in vacuum is better.     

Effects of sputtering power and pressure on properties of ZnO:Ga thin films prepared by oblique-angle deposition

The effects of power and pressure on radiofrequency (RF) diode sputtering in oblique-angle (80°) deposition arrangement are presented. Oblique-angle sputtering of ZnO:Ga (GZO) thin films resulted in a tilted columnar crystalline structure and inclination of the c-axis by an angle of approximately 9° with respect to the substrate. This improved their structural, electrical and optical properties in comparison with films deposited perpendicularly to the substrate. GZO films sputtered by an RF power of 600 W at room temperature of the substrate in Ar pressure 1.3 Pa showed strong crystalline (002) texture, lowest electrical resistivity 3.4 × 10^− 3 Ωcm, highest electron mobility 10 cm² V^− 1 s^− 1, high electron concentration 1.8 × 10²⁰ cm^− 3 and good optical transparency up to 88%. The small inclination angle of the film structure is caused by the high kinetic energy of sputtered species and additional energetic particle bombardment causes random surface diffusion, which is suppressing the shadow effect produced by oblique-angle sputtering.     

Tungsten-doped ZnO transparent conducting films deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering

Highly conducting and transparent thin films of tungsten-doped ZnO (ZnO:W) were prepared on glass substrates by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering at low temperature. The effect of film thickness on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ZnO:W films was investigated. All the deposited films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and have a preferred orientation along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The electrical resistivity first decreases with film thickness, and then increases with further increase in film thickness. The lowest resistivity achieved was 6.97 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm for a thickness of 332 nm with a Hall mobility of 6.7 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ and a carrier concentration of 1.35 × 10²¹ cm⁻³. However, the average transmittance of the films does not change much with an increase in film thickness, and all the deposited films show a high transmittance of approximately 90% in the visible range.     

Heat generation properties of Ga doped ZnO thin films prepared by rf-magnetron sputtering for transparent heaters

Ga doped ZnO (GZO) thin films were prepared by rf-magnetron sputtering on glass substrate for window heater applications. Electrical and optical properties of these films were analyzed in order to investigate on substrate temperature and rf power dependencies. High quality GZO films with a resistivity of 1.30 × 10^− 4 Ω cm and a transparency above 90% in the visible range were able to be formed. GZO films have been patterned on glass substrate as a line heater. This GZO line heater showed the rapid heat radiation property from room temperature to 90 °C for 22 s at the applied voltage of 42 V. These results could provide a possibility to use GZO as effective transparent heaters.     

衬底温度对磁控溅射法制备ZnO薄膜结构及光学特性的影响

采用射频反应磁控溅射法在玻璃衬底上制备了具有c轴高择优取向的ZnO薄膜,利用X射线衍射仪、扫描探针显微镜及紫外分光光度计研究了生长温度对ZnO薄膜的结构及光学吸收和透射特性的影响.结果表明,合适的衬底温度有利于提高ZnO薄膜的结晶质量;薄膜在紫外区显示出较强的光吸收,在可见光区的平均透过率达到90%以上,且随着衬底温度的升高,薄膜的光学带隙减小、吸收边红移.采用量子限域模型对薄膜的光学带隙作了相应的理论计算,计算结果与实验值符合得较好.     

Effect of annealing treatment on structural, electrical, and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

The effect of annealing on structural, electrical, and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering was investigated in air and nitrogen. GZO films are polycrystalline with a preferred 002 orientation. The resistivities of annealed films are larger than the as-deposited. The transmittance in the near IR region increases greatly and the optical band gap decreases after annealing. The photoluminescence spectra is composed of a near band edge emission and several deep level emissions (DLE) which are dominated by a blue emission. After annealing, these DLEs are enhanced evidently.     

高功率脉冲磁控溅射制备TiNx涂层研究

采用高功率复合脉冲磁控溅射技术(HPPMS)在316不锈钢、硬质合金基体上沉积了TiN薄膜,研究不同N2流量下TiNx膜层的沉积速率、硬度、晶体生长取向、摩擦磨损等性能,并在相同的平均靶电流下与直流磁控溅射制备的TiN薄膜对比.结果表明:HPPMS制备的膜层更加致密,在氩氮流量比为7.4∶1时膜层显微硬度达2470 HV,晶粒尺寸也明显小于直流磁控溅射制备的TiN,摩擦磨损性能也得到了改善.     

Electrical and optical properties of nanostructured VOX thin films prepared by direct current magnetron reactive sputtering and post-annealing in oxygen

Nanostructured vanadium oxide (nano-VO_X) thin films were prepared by direct current magnetron reactive sputtering in mixed O₂/Ar discharges and subsequent annealing in oxygen atmosphere. X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope were employed to characterize the crystal structures and morphologies, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was applied to analyze the vanadium-oxygen bonds of films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the compositions of the surface and inner portion of nano-VO_X thin films. It was shown that the as-deposited films were amorphous, and in-situ annealing of these films in ambient oxygen for 10 min can lead to the growth of nano-VO_X thin films. Results of electrical studies indicated that the absolute values of temperature coefficient of resistance and activation energy of films increased significantly after oxygen annealing. Optical investigations carried out in the UV-visible range showed that the absorption edges of nano-VO_X films exhibited large red shifts compared with as-deposited film, and that dual optical absorptions were observed in nano-VO_X films.     

Highly conductive alumina-added ZnO ceramic target prepared by reduction sintering and its effects on the properties of deposited thin films by direct current magnetron sputtering

To obtain a suitable sputtering target for depositing transparent conducting Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films by using direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering, this study investigates the possibility of using atmosphere controlled sintering of Al₂O₃ mixed ZnO powders to prepare highly conductive ceramic AZO targets. Experimental results show that a gas mixture of Ar and CO could produce a sintered target with resistivity in the range of 2.23 × 10^− 4 Ω cm. The fairly low resistivity was mainly achieved by the formation of both aluminum substitution (Al_Zn) and oxygen vacancy (V_O), thus greatly increasing the carrier concentration. Compared to usual air sintered target, the thin film deposited by the Ar + CO sintered target exhibited lower film resistivity and more uniform spatial distribution of resistivity. A film resistivity as low as 6.8 × 10^− 4 Ω cm was obtained under the sputtering conditions of this study.     

磁控溅射制备ITO薄膜光电性能的研究

采用直流磁控溅射方法在玻璃基底上制备了ITO薄膜.分别用分光光度计和四探针仪测试了所制备ITO薄膜在可见光区域内的透过率和电阻率,研究了溅射气压、氧氩流量比和溅射功率三个工艺参数对ITO薄膜光电性能的影响.研究结果表明,制备ITO薄膜的最佳工艺参数为:溅射气压0.6 Pa,氧氩流量比1:40,溅射功率108 W.采用此工艺参数制备的ITO薄膜在可见光区平均透过率为81.18％,薄膜电阻率为8.9197×10-3Ω·cm.     

射频磁控溅射制备Mn掺杂ZnO薄膜的结构与光学性能

采用反应射频磁控溅射方法制备Zn1-xMnxO薄膜(0≤x≤0.25),并在不同温度下进行退火处理.通过原子力显微镜、薄膜X射线衍射、透射电子显微镜和透射光谱对薄膜的成分、表面形貌、微结构和光学性质进行了研究.结果表明,薄膜结晶质量明显地依赖于掺杂Mn元素的浓度,所有薄膜都表现了沿(002)晶面方向择优取向生长,当Mn...     

反应射频磁控溅射法制备HfTaO薄膜的热稳定性和光学性能

采用反应射频磁控溅射技术制备HfTaO薄膜,利用X射线衍射(XRD)分析了薄膜的微结构,通过紫外-可见光分光光度计测量了薄膜的透过谱,计算了薄膜的折射率和禁带宽度,利用原子力显微镜观察了薄膜的表面形貌。结果表明,随着Ta掺入量(10%,26%,50%)的增加,HfTaO薄膜的结晶化温度分别为800、900、950℃,Ta掺入量继续增加到72%,经过950℃退火处理的HfTaO薄膜仍然保持非晶态,具有优良的热稳定性。AFM形貌分析显示非晶HfTaO薄膜表面非常平整。在550nm处薄膜折射率n随着Ta掺入量的增大而增大,n的变化区间为1.90～2.15。同时HfTaO薄膜的光学带隙Eg随着Ta掺入量的增大而逐渐减小,Eg的变化区间为4.15～5.29eV。     

Dependence of the electrical and optical properties on the bias voltage for ZnO:Al films deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films were deposited on glass, polycarbonate (PC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The substrate dc bias voltage varied from 0 V to 50 V. Structural, electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated. The deposition rate of ZnO:Al films on glass substrate initially increased with the bias voltage, and then decreased with further increasing bias voltage. It was found that the best films on glass substrate with a low as 6.2 × 10^− 4 Ω cm and an average transmittance over 80% at the wavelength range of 500-900 nm can be obtained by applying the bias voltage of 30 V. The properties of the films deposited on polymer substrate, such as PC and PET, have a similar tendency, with slightly inferior values to those on glass substrate.     

衬底温度对磁控溅射制备外延ZnO薄膜结构特性的影响

在不同的衬底温度下,采用磁控溅射方法在蓝宝石(0001)衬底上制备了外延生长的ZnO薄膜.采用原子力显微镜(AFM)、X射线衍射仪(XRD)、可见-紫外分光光度计系统研究了衬底温度对ZnO薄膜微观结构和光学特性的影响.AFM结果表明在不同村底温度制备的ZnO薄膜具有较为均匀的ZnO晶粒,且晶粒的尺寸随衬底温度的增加逐渐增大.XRD结果显示不同温度生长的ZnO薄膜均为外延生长,400℃生长的薄膜具有最好的结晶质量;光学透射谱显示在370nm附近均出现一个较陡的吸收边,表明制备的ZnO薄膜具有较高的质量,其光学能带隙随着衬底温度的增加而减小.     

Structural properties of Eu-doped GaN films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

Films of Eu-doped GaN (GaN:Eu) were grown on c-plane of sapphire (c-Al₂O₃), GaAs(1 0 0), Si(1 0 0) and glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement of the sputtered film was carried out. For GaN:Eu and undoped GaN, the lattice constants c and a of as-grown films were larger than those of the bulk GaN. After annealing, the lattice constants c and a of the films decreased.