Effects of content and thickness on the microstructure as well as optical and electrical properties of oxidized Al-doped ZnO Films

It is crucial to control conductivity and optical transmittance of Al doped ZnO (AZO) thin films in application of optoelectronic materials. In this paper, AZO thin films are prepared by oxidizing thermal evaporated Zn-Al thin films in open air. Then, the effects of Al contents and film thicknesses on microstructure, optical and electrical properties of the AZO films are studied. The results show that the optical and electrical properties of the AZO films are affected by the Al content and thickness changing. The Haacke figure of merit reaches 2.91×10-4 Ω-1. The film surface morphology is changed by the Al content. Nanowire is formed when the Al content is 9.58%. The Al2O3 phase appears with an excessive Al content. The transmittance of the AZO films is less than 25% when the Al content is more than 9.58%. The grain size first increases and then decreases with the increase of film thickness when the Al contents remain at 2%. Within the limits of available transmittance, the sheet resistance and transmittance of the AZO thin film decrease exponentially with the film thickness increasing.