Abstract
Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films have been deposited on glass substrates by employing radio frequency (RF) sputtering method for transparent conducting oxide applications. For the RF sputtering process, a ZnO:Al2O3 (2 wt.%) target was employed. In this paper, the effects of near infrared ray (NIR) annealing technique on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the AZO thin films have been researched. Experimental results showed that NIR annealing affected the microstructure, electrical resistance, and optical transmittance of the AZO thin films. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that all films have a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with the preferentially c-axis oriented normal to the substrate surface. Optical transmittance spectra of the AZO thin films exhibited transmittance higher than about 80% within the visible wavelength region, and the optical direct bandgap (Eg) of the AZO films was increased with increasing the NIR energy efficiency.
Highlights
Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) has been widely applied for various optoelectronic devices, such as flatpanel and liquid crystal displays [1], organic lightemitting diodes [2], and thin-film solar cells [3]
1,823 2.6196 5.2392 0.7554 −1.7601 between the crystallinity of the aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films and the efficiency of the near infrared ray (NIR) process; we investigated the stress in the direction of the c-axis
The intensity of green emission is found to increase as the NIR energy efficiency is increased since the green emission depends on the relative concentrations of free electrons and defects created by oxygen vacancies in its lattice as a result of heating treatment [34]. This result is consistent with the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and it indicates that the crystal quality of the AZO thin films can be controlled by adjusting the energy efficiency of the NIR process
Summary
Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) has been widely applied for various optoelectronic devices, such as flatpanel and liquid crystal displays [1], organic lightemitting diodes [2], and thin-film solar cells [3]. The intensity of green emission is found to increase as the NIR energy efficiency is increased since the green emission depends on the relative concentrations of free electrons and defects created by oxygen vacancies in its lattice as a result of heating treatment [34]. This result is consistent with the XRD analysis, and it indicates that the crystal quality of the AZO thin films can be controlled by adjusting the energy efficiency of the NIR process
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