Influence of post-annealing on the properties of Sc-doped ZnO transparent conductive films deposited by radio-frequency sputtering

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 255; no. 18; pp. 7942 - 7945
• Main Authors: Liu, Xueqiang, Bi, Weihong, Liu, Zhaolun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 30.06.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electrical properties; Exact sciences and technology; Physics; Radio-frequency sputtering; Semiconductors; Thin films; Transparent conductive films; 42.25.Fx; Thin films; Radio-frequency sputtering; Semiconductors; Electrical properties; 42.70.Km; Transparent conductive films; 78. 20.−e; Annealing; Inorganic compounds; Semiconductor materials; Transition element compounds; Doped materials; Sputtering; 78. 20.-e; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2009.04.173

Sc-doped ZnO transparent conductive films are deposited on glass substrates by radio-frequency sputtering. The influence of post-annealing on the structural, morphologic, electrical, and optical properties of the films is investigated by energy dispersion X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Hall measurement, and optical transmission spectroscopy. The experimental results show that these films are polycrystalline with a preferred [0 0 1] orientation. The lowest resistivity of 2.6 × 10 −4 Ω cm is obtained from the film annealed at 500 °C. The average optical transmittance of the films is over 90%. These results suggest that Sc-doped ZnO is a good candidate for fabricating high performance transparent conductive films.