Study on the structural, electrical, optical, adhesive properties and stability of Ga-doped ZnO transparent conductive films deposited on polymer substrates at room temperature

Abstract

Flexible optoelectronic devices are attractive because of light weight, small volume, flexibility and easy transport. Transparent conductive oxide thin films deposited on polymer substrates could satisfy the flexibility for optoelectronic devices. Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films have been prepared on polycarbonate substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The dependence of the structural, electrical, optical and adhesive properties for films on the sputtering powers was investigated. We also investigated the stability of the electrical property through doing Hall-effect measurements 18 months later. The lowest sheet resistance was 5.8 Ω/sq. After 18 months, the lowest sheet resistance was 6.5 Ω/sq. The stability of the electrical property is excellent. The average transmittance in the visible region of all the films was as high as 85 %, using air as reference. The good transparency-conducting property, excellent stability and room-temperature deposition on polymeric substrates enable GZO films to be widely used in optoelectronic devices.