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Sputtered deposited nanocrystalline ZnO films: A correlation between electrical, optical and microstructural properties

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Abstract

Zinc oxide thin films were prepared by dc (direct current) and rf (radio frequency) magnetron sputtering on glass substrates. ZnO films produced by dc sputtering have a high resistance, while the films produced using rf sputtering are significantly more conductive. While the conductive films have a compact nodular surface morphology, the resistive films have a relatively porous surface with columnar structures in cross section. Compared to the dc sputtered films, rf sputtered films have a microstructure with smaller d spacing, lower internal stress, higher band gap energy and higher density. Dependence of conductivity on the deposition technique and the resulting d spacing , stress, density, band gap, film thickness and Al doping are discussed. Correlations between the electrical conductivity, microstructural parameters and optical properties of the films have been made.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    J. Lee

  2. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    W. Gao, Z. Li & M. Hodgson

  3. Department of Chemistry, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    J. Metson

  4. Department of Materials Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    H. Gong

  5. Instituto de Física, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Apdo. Postal J-48, Puebla, Pue., 72570, Mexico

    U. Pal

Authors
  1. J. Lee
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  2. W. Gao
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  3. Z. Li
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  4. M. Hodgson
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  5. J. Metson
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  6. H. Gong
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Correspondence to J. Metson.

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PACS

73.25.+i; 81.15.cd; 81.05.ys

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Lee, J., Gao, W., Li, Z. et al. Sputtered deposited nanocrystalline ZnO films: A correlation between electrical, optical and microstructural properties. Appl. Phys. A 80, 1641–1646 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-004-3197-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-004-3197-6

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