Structural and optical characterization of Al-doped ZnO films prepared by thermal oxidation of evaporated Zn/Al multilayered films

Structural and optical characterization of Al-doped ZnO films prepared by thermal oxidation of evaporated Zn/Al multilayered films

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films ( t = 68–138 nm) were prepared by thermal oxidation in air flow, at 720 K, of the multilayered metallic Zn/Al thin stacks deposited in vacuum onto glass substrates by physical vapor deposition. The effect of Al content (3.7–8.2 at.%) on the structural (c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Materials chemistry and physics Vol. 123; no. 1; pp. 314 - 321
Main Authors: Rusu, G.G., Râmbu, A.P., Buta, V.E., Dobromir, M., Luca, D., Rusu, M.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier B.V 01-09-2010
Subjects:
Air flow
Aluminum
Optical properties
Oxidation
Surface layer
Texture
Thin films
Vacuum deposition
Wurtzite
XPS
XRD
Zinc
Zinc oxide
Thin films
XPS
XRD
Optical properties
Vacuum deposition
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Summary:Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films ( t = 68–138 nm) were prepared by thermal oxidation in air flow, at 720 K, of the multilayered metallic Zn/Al thin stacks deposited in vacuum onto glass substrates by physical vapor deposition. The effect of Al content (3.7–8.2 at.%) on the structural (crystallinity, texture, stress, surface morphology) and optical (transmittance, absorbance, energy band gap) characteristics of doped ZnO thin films was investigated. The X-ray diffraction spectra revealed that the Al-doped ZnO films have a hexagonal (wurtzite) structure with preferential orientation with c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. A tensile residual stress increasing with Al content was observed. The films showed a high transmittance (about 90%) in the visible and NIR regions. The optical band gap value was found to decrease with Al content from 3.22 eV to 3.18 eV. The results are discussed in correlation with structural characteristics and Al content in the films.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
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content type line 23
ISSN:0254-0584
1879-3312
DOI:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2010.04.022