Spray-Pyrolyzed Aluminium-Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films for Transparent Conducting Applications

Aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were produced by spray pyrolysis on glass substrates at the substrate temperature of 573 K and the X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the nanocrystalline nature of the film with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and (002) preferred orientation. Surface morphology reveals that the deposited film is uniformly distributed over the glass substrate with absence of any voids or cracks. The optical band gap (Eg) of the AZO films was found to be 3.32 eV, the resistivity (ρ) of the AZO films was of the order of 4.21×10-3 Ω cm and the transmittance reaching maximum value of 80.17%, which is reasonably good and desirable for transparent conducting oxide applications.

Spray pyrolysis; Thin films; Transparent conducting oxide; Optical properties; Electrical properties; Optoelectronic devices

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