Effect of Al Nanoparticles on the Microstructure, Electrical, and Optical Properties of AZO/Al/AZO Trilayer Thin Film

Abstract

In this work, designed growth of aluminum (Al)/aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO), AZO/Al/AZO, and AZO/Al multilayer electrodes by radiofrequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on glass substrates was studied. The microstructures, optical properties, and electrical characteristics of the multilayer electrode thin films were analyzed, their structural denseness and thickness were observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and their crystal orientation was identified by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The resistivity and transmittance of the films were measured by four-point probe and UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer, respectively. The resistivity of the AZO/Al/AZO multilayer electrode thin film was 1.55 X cm. The average transmittance of the AZO/Al/ AZO thin film over wavelengths from 400 nm to 800 nm was much better than that of other thin films, since Al nanoparticles distribute in the AZO thin film during the sputtering process, as observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). In addition, the figure of merit of the AZO/Al/ AZO trilayer film was much larger than those of the other structures.

Influence of Annealing Temperature on Optical Properties of Sandwiched ZnO/Metal/ZnO Transparent Conductive Thin Films

“…As a transparent conductive oxide, zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide-bandgap semiconductor with high transmittance in the visible range [1,2], which has led to its broad application in the fields of flat panel displays, camera tubes, solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, liquid crystal displays and so on [3,4]. However, pure ZnO has a high resistivity and cannot meet the requirements of transparent conductive films due to two mutually restrictive factors: high transmittance and low resistivity in the visible light range.…”

Fluorometric sensing of ultralow As(iii) concentrations using Ag doped hollow CdS/ZnS bi-layer nanoparticles

“…[1][2][3] Recently, hollow nanostructures that are singleshelled, double-shelled, and multi-shelled have been attracting considerable interest because of their unique properties such as low density, high specific surface area, and controllable surface permeability, [4][5][6] and their potential applications in various fields of biotechnology, chemistry, and advanced functional materials. [7][8][9][10][11][12] Photoluminescence studies have been reported for different tri-layer (core/shell/shell) semiconductor nanoparticles such as CdS/HgS/CdS, 13 Al doped ZnO/Al/Al doped ZnO thin films, 14 and hollow bi-layers nanoparticles such as ZnS/Ag 2 S 15 and PSA/SiO 2 . 16 Furthermore, doping of core/shell or hollow structures helps to enhance or develop new properties.…”

Enhanced Optical and Electrical Properties of ITO/Ag/AZO Transparent Conductors for Photoelectric Applications

“…Yun et al reported that the combination of ITO/Ni/AZO enhanced the electrical conductivity, mobility, and the carrier concentration [11]. Other combinational structures having different metal layers such as ITO/Au/ITO [12], TCO/Ag/ TCO [13][14][15], AZO/Mo/AZO [16], and AZO/Au/AZO [17] were also reported. Each combination has its own individuality in enhancing overall performance of the device.…”