Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were rapid thermal annealed (RTA) for 5 min at a temperature of 550 °C in different exposures of nitrogen gas. Effects of these exposures on the structural, morphological, electrical, and optical properties of these films were investigated using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and field emission-scanning electron microscopy, four-point probe and hall effect measurements, and ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-VIS-NIR) spectrophotometer, respectively. The un-exposed RTA ITO films maintained (400) plane preferential orientation similar to the un-annealed sample. However, this plane preferential orientation was reduced relative to (222) plane for exposed RTA sample. The grains and surface roughness parameters were reduced for exposed and enhanced for un-exposed RTA samples as compared to the un-annealed sample. Relatively higher electrical conductivity, average solar transmittance, and bandgap values were observed for ITO films annealed while exposed to nitrogen gas. The exposed RTA ITO films showed sheet resistance of 7.91 Ω sq −1 , average solar transmittance of 83%, and bandgap of 3.93 eV. Findings from this study suggest that RTA exposure have the potential to control ITO thin films properties, hence, extending its potential applications.

This work investigated the potential to achieve zinc oxide (ZnO) films for Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) solar cells window layer at controlled annealing conditions as a potential approach to address elemental inter-diffusion in CZTS solar cells. This involved rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of room-temperature oxygenated DC sputtered zinc thin films in an ambient of nitrogen gas at different temperatures. Structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of these films were determined by X-ray diffractometer, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Ultraviolet-visible-near infrared spectrophotometer, and Hall Effect measurement, respectively. ZnO phases were observed after annealing the films over 150 °C. The films’ grains sizes improved with increasing RTA temperature. An exponential decrease in these films’ resistivity was observed with increasing RTA temperature attaining the lowest value at 300 °C. The bandgap and average solar transmittance of the films increased with increasing RTA temperature achieving values that are potential for applications in CZTS solar cells window layer at RTA temperatures beyond 200 °C. Keywords: Sputtering; Rapid thermal annealing; Zinc oxide; Structural; Opt-electrical