Multifactorial investigations of the deposition process – Material property relationships of ZnO:Al thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering in pulsed DC, DC and RF modes using different targets for low resistance highly transparent films on unheated substrates

Wójcicka, Aleksandra; Fogarassy, Zsolt; Racz, A.S.; Kravchuk, T.; Sobczak, Grzegorz; Borysiewicz, M.

doi:10.1016/j.vacuum.2022.111299

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This effect is due to the absorption of photons by free electrons (Drude absorption), and is an indicator of the good electrical conductivity of the manufactured films. The resistivity of the fabricated AZO film was 2.6 × 10 −3 Ω•cm, a value comparable to those reported in the literature (e.g., [46]). One of the parameters indicating the good properties of the material as a transparent oxide conductor is the so-called FOM (figure of merit), which takes into account both transparency and conductivity.…”

Section: Optical and Electrical Propertiessupporting

confidence: 87%

A Comprehensive Investigation of the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of AZO Transparent Conducting Oxide Thin Films Deposited by Medium Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Mazur,

Kiliszkiewicz,

Posadowski

et al. 2023

Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper presents a detailed analysis of aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films and considers them a promising alternative to indium tin oxide in transparent electrodes. The study focusses on critical properties of AZO, including optical, electrical, and mechanical properties, with potential applications in displays, photovoltaic cells, and protective coatings. The deposited AZO thin films are characterised by excellent optical and electrical parameters, with transparency in the visible light range exceeding 80% and resistivity of 10−3 Ω·cm, which gives a high value of figure of merit of 63. Structural analysis confirms the nanocrystalline nature of as-deposited AZO thin films, featuring hexagonal ZnO, orthorhombic Al2O3, and cubic Al2ZnO4 phases. The study includes nanoindentation measurements, which reveal exceptional hardness (11.4 GPa) and reduced elastic modulus (98 GPa), exceeding typical values reported in the literature, highlighting their protective potential. Abrasion tests have shown extraordinary scratch resistance due to the lack of impact on topography and surface roughness up to 10,000 cycles. This comprehensive study demonstrated that as-deposited AZO thin films are multifunctional materials with exceptional optical, electrical, and mechanical properties. The findings open up possibilities for a variety of applications, especially in protective coatings, where the combination of hardness, scratch resistance, and transparency is both rare and valuable.

show abstract

Section: Optical and Electrical Propertiessupporting

confidence: 87%

A Comprehensive Investigation of the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of AZO Transparent Conducting Oxide Thin Films Deposited by Medium Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Mazur,

Kiliszkiewicz,

Posadowski

et al. 2023

Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…

E_{\text{g}}^{\text{AZO}}

is significantly higher than the value for bulk ZnO of 3.32 eV, due to the very high free carrier concentration in our AZO films. [ 13 ] The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images (Figure 2c–d) show that the AZO layer deposited onto the (001) β ‐Ga 2 O 3 epitaxial layer possesses a hexagonal, polycrystalline structure in the form of columns perpendicular to the surface. The ITO layer grows on the (001) β ‐Ga 2 O 3 epilayer in form of grains extending throughout the whole thickness of the layer.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…100 W DC power. [13] The surface of the samples was cleaned by a HCl solution prior to Schottky contact deposition. As a final step annealing at 300 °C in the air on a hotplate was applied to improve current-voltage characteristics of the devices.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ITO layers were deposited using RF magnetron sputtering of an ITO target composed of 90 wt% In

_{2}

_{3}

and 10 wt% SnO

_{2}

under 140 mA current and 2

\times

^{- 2}

mbar Ar pressure, whereas the AZO layers were deposited in DC mode using AZO target composed of 98 wt% ZnO and 2 wt% Al

_{2}

_{3}

under 1

\times

^{- 2}

mbar Ar pressure and 100 W DC power. [ 13 ] The surface of the samples was cleaned by a HCl solution prior to Schottky contact deposition. As a final step annealing at 300 °C in the air on a hotplate was applied to improve current–voltage characteristics of the devices.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

All‐Oxide Transparent Vertical Indium Tin Oxide and Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide/β‐Ga₂O₃ Schottky Diodes

Taube,

Borysiewicz,

Sadowski

et al. 2023

Physica Status Solidi (a)

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this work the fabrication and characterization of low‐resistance all‐oxide transparent vertical β‐Ga2O3 diodes using indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminium‐doped zinc oxide (AZO) Schottky contacts is reported. It was shown that an ITO ohmic contact to n+‐β‐Ga2O3 substrate was formed after annealing in N2 at 800∘C C. Both AZO and ITO‐based Schottky diodes shows well behaved current‐voltage characteristics. Average Schottky barrier heights and ideality factors were 0.99 eV and 1.05 and 0.95 eV and 1.03 for AZO and ITO Schottky contacts, respectively. The on‐off current ratio was about 2×1010 and 1×1011 for AZO and ITO Schottky contact, respectively. Moreover, the on‐state resistance was about 6‐7 mΩcm2 and 4‐5 mΩcm2 for AZO and ITO Schottky contact, respectively, and was 20‐35 times lower than for previously reported transparent β‐Ga2O3 Schottky diodes.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

show abstract

“…However, an additional advantage is the possibility of the preparation of p-type transparent conductive coatings using in situ doping of ZnO during its deposition [ 6 ]. The form type and dimensions of ZnO nanostructures have a strong impact on its features as well [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. All of the listed properties and additionally the high thermal and mechanical stability at room temperature make it attractive for potential use in electronics, optoelectronics and laser technology [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the Microstructure, Optical, Electrical and Nanomechanical Properties of ZnOx Thin Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The paper presents the results of an investigation of the influence of technological parameters on the microstructure, optical, electrical and nanomechanical properties of zinc oxide coatings prepared using the pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering method. Three sets of ZnOx thin films were deposited in metallic, shallow dielectric and deep dielectric sputtering modes. Structural investigations showed that thin films deposited in the metallic mode were nanocrystalline with mixed hexagonal phases of metallic zinc and zinc oxide with crystallite size of 9.1 and 6.0 nm, respectively. On the contrary, the coatings deposited in both dielectric modes had a nanocrystalline ZnO structure with an average crystallite size smaller than 10 nm. Moreover, coatings deposited in the dielectric modes had an average transmission of 84% in the visible wavelength range, while thin films deposited in the metallic mode were opaque. Measurements of electrical properties revealed that the resistivity of as-deposited thin films was in the range of 10−4 Ωcm to 108 Ωcm. Coatings deposited in the metallic mode had the lowest hardness of 2.2 GPa and the worst scratch resistance among all sputtered coatings, whereas the best mechanical properties were obtained for the film sputtered in the deep dielectric mode. The obtained hardness of 11.5 GPa is one of the highest reported to date in the literature for undoped ZnO.

show abstract

Multifactorial investigations of the deposition process – Material property relationships of ZnO:Al thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering in pulsed DC, DC and RF modes using different targets for low resistance highly transparent films on unheated substrates

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

A Comprehensive Investigation of the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of AZO Transparent Conducting Oxide Thin Films Deposited by Medium Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

A Comprehensive Investigation of the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of AZO Transparent Conducting Oxide Thin Films Deposited by Medium Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

All‐Oxide Transparent Vertical Indium Tin Oxide and Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide/β‐Ga₂O₃ Schottky Diodes

Investigation of the Microstructure, Optical, Electrical and Nanomechanical Properties of ZnOx Thin Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Multifactorial investigations of the deposition process – Material property relationships of ZnO:Al thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering in pulsed DC, DC and RF modes using different targets for low resistance highly transparent films on unheated substrates

Cited by 6 publications

References 20 publications

A Comprehensive Investigation of the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of AZO Transparent Conducting Oxide Thin Films Deposited by Medium Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

A Comprehensive Investigation of the Mechanical and Tribological Properties of AZO Transparent Conducting Oxide Thin Films Deposited by Medium Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

All‐Oxide Transparent Vertical Indium Tin Oxide and Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide/β‐Ga2O3 Schottky Diodes

Investigation of the Microstructure, Optical, Electrical and Nanomechanical Properties of ZnOx Thin Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

All‐Oxide Transparent Vertical Indium Tin Oxide and Aluminum‐Doped Zinc Oxide/β‐Ga₂O₃ Schottky Diodes