RETRACTED ARTICLE: Magnetron Sputtered AZO Thin Film Preparation for the Solar Cells Applications

Abstract

Improved properties of aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) thin films deposited by the magnetron sputtering at room temperature are reported. AZO is one of the most promising transparent conducting oxide materials, which widely used in thin film solar cells. In this study the optimization process of the DC magnetron sputtered AZO films was carried out at room temperature by studying its structural, optical, electrical and morphological properties at different deposition times (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 min). It can be utilized as a front contact for the cadmium telluride (CdTe) based thin film solar cells. The structural study shows that the preferred orientation of grains is along plane (002), with a hexagonal structure of the grains. The electrical and optical characteristics show that the films has an average transmission of 70 % and a resistivity of the order of 10 -4 X cm. The morphology analysis suggests the formation of packed grains with a homogeneous surface.

Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO:Al Thin Films Produced by Magnetron Sputtering with Different Oxygen Flow: An Experimental and Ab Initio Study

“…Thus, as suggested by the results presented in Figure 1, with the increase of O 2 in the deposition atmosphere, there is the formation of ZnO phases; that is, a reduction in the doping of ZnO:Al films; however, it is noted that for the atmosphere with 25% O 2 , there is the doping of ZnO with 2% Al, reported by several authors as ideal concentration. [ 3–5,9,25,42 ]…”

“…Transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films stand out for their application in the industries of electronics, solar cells, electrochromic panels, light‐emitting diode/active‐matrix organic light‐emitting diode screens, among others. [ 1–4 ] In the last decade, researchers have sought to optimize the deposition processes of thin films for application as TCO, [ 5–7 ] films such as a fluorine‐doped tin oxide (FTO), tin‐doped indium oxide (ITO), oxide of zinc doped with aluminum (AZO), and variations of these with different codopants. [ 2–4,6–8 ] For application as TCO, the film must have, mainly, a transmittance of ≈80%, low bandgap (≈3 eV), and low resistivity.…”

“…Amara and Bouafia [ 8 ] studied the influence of annealing on the optical, electrical, and structural properties of AZO/Al/AZO multilayer films deposited by magnetron sputtering and reported that with the increase in the annealing temperature, there is a higher transmittance, however, a greater resistivity. Gorannevis et al [ 5 ] studied the deposition of thin AZO films by magnetron sputtering for application in solar cells, concluding that the deposition time influences the optical and electrical properties of the films.…”

Versatile r.f. magnetron sputtering doping method to produce aluminum‐doped zinc oxide films

“…Al‐doping ZnO films began to be studied in the mid‐80s to replace ITO 2,3 . AZO has advantages compared to ITO and FTO, such as low toxicity, high abundance of Zn in nature, and lower cost than indium and fluorine 4 .…”

RF magnetron sputtering processed transparent conductive aluminum doped ZnO thin films with excellent optical and electrical properties

“…For light trapping purposes, the front AZO layer requires a rough surface texture and the transparent should be exceed 80% [17,18]. The front contact thin lms with rough surface texture can produce adequate light scattering effect, improving the light trapping capacity of photovoltaic devices.…”