Study of transparent conducting ZnO:Al films deposited on organic substrate by reactive magnetron sputtering

Abstract

Abstract.A Zn-Al metallic target (Al 2 wt.%)has been used to prepare conductive and transparent aluminium-doped Zinc oxide(ZnO:Al) films on PI substrate by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering.The structure,crystallinity,optical properties,electrical properties and adhesion were investigated using a range of techniques,including AFM 、 XRD 、 spectrophotometry、four-point probe and adhesion tester.The optimal films were prepared with a substrate temperature of 150℃，O 2 /Ar ration of 2:38 and sputtering power of 80W.The infrared emission properties of films and the feasibility for military application were also discussed in this paper. All the results to date demonstrate that magnetron sputtering is a costeffective and easy to fabricating technique. IntroductionNowdays there is a great interest in replacing indium tin oxide (ITO) with aluminium -doping ZnO(ZAO),because of this oxide low cost,abundant raw materials,non-toxicity,relatively low deposition temperature and stability in hydrogen plasm.Extensive research work has being done on ZAO films depositied on rigid substrates.Recently preparing ZAO films on organic substrate has generated a renewed interest in it's potential use. Transparent conducting films deposited on polymer substrates have many merits compared with those deposited on glass and silicon substrate;they are lightweight,flexible, robust,of small volume and easy to carry,which are desired properties for a variety of applications such as flat panel display, heat-reflecting coating for energy saving use,low emissivity coating for stealth use etc.In this work,ZAO films were deposited on polyimides being with good heat resistance from Zn-Al metallic target.Detailed information about optical properties,electrical properties as well as structure and morphology were presented.

Structural and Optical Characterization of Zinc Oxide Films Prepared By Two Stage; Spin Coating and Hydrothermal Process

“…The synthesis of high quality ZnO thin film is very important for the development of numerous optoelectronic devices. Several efficient methods such as spray pyrolysis (Gomez-Pozos et al 2007), chemical bath deposition (Cao & Cai 2008), spin coating (Xu et al 2006), reactive magnetron sputtering (Li & Wang 2009), and dip coating (Djouadi et al 2009) are widely used to prepare good thin films of ZnO. According to the application desired of ZnO thin films, we have prepared ZnO thin films using a cost effective hydrothermal process at mild conditions of low temperature, atmospheric pressure as well as allowing for the tuning of the band gap of ZnO film via changes in the thickness of seed layer.…”