Enhanced Transparent Conducting Properties of Optically Annealed Aerosol Deposited Nano Clustered ZnO Thin Film

Abstract

Aerosol deposition (AD) method has the outstanding advantages of room temperature processing unlike other processing methods. AD method can produce crystallized thin films even under room temperature processing conditions. For the first time, transparent conducting zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were prepared on glass substrates by the AD method at room temperature. After deposition, rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process was performed at various conditions. The optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films were subsequently investigated. The experimental results confirmed that the RTA conditions affect the microstructure, electrical resistance, and optical transmittance of ZnO thin films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that all films exhibit a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with the c-axis preferentially oriented normal to the substrate surface.