Effect of the substrate temperature on the properties of Ga-doped ZnO films for photovoltaic cell applications deposited by a pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with a rotating cylindrical target

Dependence of Ga-doped ZnO thin film properties on different sputtering process parameters: Substrate temperature, sputtering pressure and bias voltage

“…A similar behavior was reported by other authors [14,17]. In studies that involved the effect of the substrate temperature on the properties of Ga-doped ZnO films, Park and coworkers [13] have achieved an electrical resistivity of 5.3 × 10 −4 Ω•cm using a substrate temperature of 225°C; also S. Wang and co-workers [14] have achieved a minimum electrical resistivity of 5.8 × 10 −4 Ω•cm using a substrate temperature of 350°C, which are slightly higher values than that obtained in the present manuscript for a substrate temperature of 320°C. The changes in both carrier concentration (from 7.51 × 10 20 to 9.61 × 10 20 cm −3 , at 270 and 320°C, respectively) and electrical mobility (from 12.58 to 17.51 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 , at 270 and 320°C, respectively) are consistent with the change of resistivity with the substrate temperature.…”

“…The electrical resistivity decreases sharply from 6.61 × 10 −4 Ω•cm to 3.71 × 10 −4 Ω•cm as the substrate temperature increases from 270 to 320°C. These values of ρ are very promising for ZnO:Ga application as transparent conductive oxide electrodes [12,13]. With increasing substrate temperature, more Ga atoms are activated into the ZnO lattice as donorsthere is an increase in diffusion of Ga atoms from interstitial locations and grain boundaries into the Zn cation sites -, which leads to the observed successive increase in carrier concentration, since the Ga atom is trivalent and Zn has a valence of 2 [14][15][16].…”

A Review of Last Developments in Thin Films Parameters of Direct Current Sputtering for Optical and Biomedical Applications

“…As a result of that, many authors investigate the enhancement in the temperature factor to minimize it as much as possible which leads to the high quality of nanofilms coating and shorter time of device maintenance. Park et al (2012) studied the impact of temperature of substrate on the DC sputtering procedure of Ga-doped ZnO nanofilms coating for electrical uses [12]. Fig.…”

Fabrication of chemically stable hydrogen- and niobium-codoped ZnO transparent conductive films

“…The intensity of the (002) reection was found to initially decrease upon the introduction of H 2 , and to subsequently increase when the ow rate of H 2 was increased to 1.2 sccm; however, for H 2 ow rates beyond this value, the (002) orientation was less favored. This observation can be explained by taking the high-energy O 2À ion bombardment of the NZO lm into account; that is, the ion bombardment damages the (002) planes more seriously than other loosely-packed planes such as (101)-the surface of the growing lm will have a large number of dangling bonds; 45,46 therefore, the growth of the crystallites that are normal to the (101) plane will continue relatively undisturbed, and they can serve as seeds for further growth; 45,46 however, the termination of the dangling bonds upon the incorporation of hydrogen enables the sputtered atoms to travel further. Upon the hydrogen doping, the microstructure of the NZO lm changes from an unstable to a more stable orientation, i.e.…”