Effect of dopants and thermal treatment on properties of Ga-Al-ZnO thin films fabricated by hetero targets sputtering system

Abstract

In this study, we fabricated Ga and Al doped ZnO (Ga-Al-ZnO; GAZO) thin films by using the facing targets sputtering system under various conditions such as input current and thermal treatment temperature. The properties of the as-deposited GAZO thin films were examined by four-point, UV/Vis spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The result showed that the lowest sheet resistance of the films was 59.3 ohm/sq and transmittance was about 85%. After thermal treatment, the properties of GAZO thin films were improved. The lowest sheet resistance (47.3 ohm/sq) of the GAZO thin films were obtained at thermal treatment temperature of 300 degrees C, considered to be the result of continuous substitutions by dopants and improved crystallinity by the thermal treatment. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.