Effects of substrate temperatures on the thermal stability of Al-doped ZnO thin films grown by DC magnetron sputtering

In this work, Al-doped (4 at%) ZnO(AZO) thin films were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering using a home-made ceramic target at different substrate temperatures. The microstructure, optical, electrical and thermal stability properties of these thin films were characterized systematically using scanning electron microscopy, UV–Vis-NIR spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and Hall measurements. It was observed that the AZO thin films deposited at 350 °C exhibited the lowest resistivity of 5.76 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm, high average visible transmittance (400–800 nm) of 92%, and the best thermal stability. Comparing with the AZO thin films deposited at low substrate temperatures, the AZO thin films deposited at 350 °C had the highest compact surface morphology which could hinder the chemisorbed and diffused oxygen. This was considered to be the main mechanism which was responsible for the thermal degradation of AZO thin films.