Low resistivity of Ni-Al co-doped ZnO thin films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering at low sputtering power

JongWoo Lee, K. N. Hui, K.S. Hui, Y. R. Cho, Ho-Hwan Chun

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Abstract

Ni-Al co-doped ZnO (NiAl:ZnO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering in Ar using a single ceramic, spark-plasma-sintered target with 2 wt% Al and 5 wt% Ni. The effects of the sputtering power and gas pressure on the NiAl:ZnO films were studied. The structural, electrical, and optical properties of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Hall effect measurements and UV-vis transmission spectroscopy. As the sputtering power and gas pressure increased, the crystallinity, electrical properties and optical band gap of the films were improved. The NiAl:ZnO film deposited at 40 W at 6.0 mTorr had the strongest (0 0 2) XRD peak and the lowest resistivity of approximately 2.19 × 10 -3 Ω cm with an optical transmittance of 90%.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)55-61
Number of pages7
JournalApplied Surface Science
Volume293
Early online date20 Dec 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Feb 2014

Keywords

  • Al-doped ZnO
  • DC magnetron sputtering
  • Electrical properties
  • NiO
  • Transparent conducting oxide

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