Enhancement of Electrical Conductivity of Transparent Ga -Doped Zinc Oxide Films via Quench Reduction in an Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet

Abstract

Transparent conducting oxides such as gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) are of increasing importance for displays and photovoltaic applications. For manufacturing, an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (with no vacuum chamber) is suitable for continuous inline processing; however, deposition becomes more susceptible to oxygen quenching, reducing the plasma's reactivity and the formation of oxide. Here the authors show that the electrical conductivity and deposition rate of GZO films are both enhanced by using a different nozzle feature, to lessen oxygen quenching. These findings may be extended to other areas where vacuum-based technologies are not applicable, such as biomedical applications.