Room temperature deposition of homogeneous, highly transparent and conductive Al-doped ZnO films by reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Mickan, Martin; Helmersson, Ulf; Rinnert, H.; Ghanbaja, Jaâfar; Müller, D.; Horwat, David

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2016.07.020

Cited by 76 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…At the same time, it allows control of the flow of ions to the substrate, which could lead to improved crystallinity. HiPIMS allow to the producing of highly transparent and conductive AZO films on large surfaces without thermal assistance . The deposition rates are high, which is advantageous for industrial applications.…”

Section: Magnetron Sputtering Of Azomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Possibilities of Increasing the Usability of Sputtered AZO Films as a Transparent Electrode

Novák

2019

Physica Status Solidi (a)

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Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) is a suitable material for use as transparent electrode. Due to its lower price it is applied in the production of silicon solar cells. However, it is difficult to obtain suitable electrical properties at low deposition temperatures. Moreover, the AZO films with low thickness exhibit significantly higher average resistivity, which limits their usability, especially if they are prepared on flexible substrates. A lot of effort is invested to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) to a much greater extent now, since Indium is rare and its price is rising, thus the preparation of lowthickness AZO films at low temperature is also subject of intense research. The presented paper summarizes the reported results, discusses the causes of the differences between ITO and AZO films, and suggests the direction of research and the potential solution that should lead to increased usability of AZO films and also possible replacement of ITO films.

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Section: Magnetron Sputtering Of Azomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent results are consistent with these claims. It was reported that the electrical properties of AZO films deposited by HiPIMS are more homogeneous compared with conventional dc or RF magnetron sputtering. AZO films prepared by HiPIMS at higher voltage do not exhibit the spatial distribution of the resistivity.…”

Section: Magnetron Sputtering Of Azomentioning

confidence: 99%

Possibilities of Increasing the Usability of Sputtered AZO Films as a Transparent Electrode

Novák

2019

Physica Status Solidi (a)

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“…One is the intrinsic stress induced by the impurities and defects in the crystal, and the other is the extrinsic stress introduced by the lattice mismatch and the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the film and the substrate. The later component is negligible compared to the stress measured in the former [27,28], when the films were deposited at lower substrate temperature.…”

Section: Structural Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…The increased stress in the films was due to the nonstoichiometry of the Mo atoms in the films, that is, a sufficient at.% of Mo in the target was not present in the films. However, the decreased stress in the films doped with 2 at.% Mo was due to the growth of additional crystallographic orientations and oxygen substoichiometry [29,30],which inhibit the growth of the (002) orientation. By contrast, the stress in the films deposited at higher substrate temperatures increased with the at.% of Mo, even when the stoichiometric ratio of Mo in ZnO was maintained in the films.…”

Section: Structural Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Physical investigations on transparent conducting Mo:ZnO thin films

Srinivasarao

Mohanbabu²,

Mukhopadhyay

2018

Adv Compos Hybrid Mater

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Molybdenum (Mo)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited by radio frequency (r.f.) magnetron sputtering on quartz and Si (100) substrates at two different substrate temperatures (473 and 673 K) and at a fixed combined partial pressure 5 Pa of Argon and O 2 . The atomic percentage (at.%) of (Mo) in ZnO was increased from 1 to 2 at.%. The results of X-ray diffraction revealed that the ZnO films deposited at 5 Pa at a substrate temperature of 473 K were highly c-axis oriented with a predominant (002) crystallographic orientation. The intensity of (002) decreased with an increase in the atomic percentage of Mo. Moreover, a growth in the (100), (101), (220), and (103) orientations was observed. The energy-dispersive spectrum (EDS) of the Mo:ZnO films deposited at 5 Pa and 473 K was substoichiometric, whereas the films deposited at 673 K were nearly stoichiometric. The surface morphology of the ZnO films is porous when deposited at 473 K. The optical energy gap of the ZnO films deposited at 473 K increased from 3.11 to 3.64 eV with an increase in the atomic percentage of Mo. The electrical resistivity of the ZnO films decreased from 1.7 × 10 −4 to 6.7 × 10 −5 Ωm with an increase in the substrate temperature and atomic percentage of Mo. The thickness of the films measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry is 440 nm.

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“…and can be more uniformly coated as well [21][22][23]. Recently, reactive HiPIMS in various gas mixtures has been used for the deposition of oxides, nitrides, and other materials [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31].In this paper, we will present the first study of plasma parameters in the reactive HiPIMS in Ar + H 2 S gas mixture whose results could be further used for the optimization of deposition of iron sulfide thin films or other types of sulfides.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma Diagnostics in Reactive High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering System Working in Ar + H2S Gas Mixture

et al. 2020

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A reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering system (HiPIMS) working in Ar + H 2 S gas mixture was investigated as a source for the deposition of iron sulfide thin films. As a sputtering material, a pure Fe target was used. Plasma parameters in this system were investigated by a time-resolved Langmuir probe, radio-frequency (RF) ion flux probe, quartz crystal monitor modified for measurement of the ionized fraction of depositing particles, and by optical emission spectroscopy. A wide range of mass flow rates of reactive gas H 2 S was used for the investigation of the deposition process. It was found that the deposition rate of iron sulfide thin films is not influenced by the flow rate of H 2 S reactive gas fed into the magnetron discharge although the target is covered by iron sulfide compound. The ionized fraction of depositing particles decreases from r ≈ 40% to r ≈ 20% as the flow rate of H 2 S, Q H 2 S , changes from 0 to 19 sccm at the gas pressure around p ≈ 1 Pa in the reactor chamber. The electron concentration n e measured by the Langmuir probe at the position of the substrate decreases over this change of Q H 2 S from 10 18 down to 10 17 m −3Coatings 2020, 10, 246 2 of 16 realized. Furthermore, FeS films were found to be excellent low-friction materials working like solid state lubricants in tribological applications [16].High-power impulse magnetron sputtering system (HiPIMS) is a relatively novel approach for the deposition of thin films [17][18][19][20]. This method utilizes very high discharge current densities during the pulse j D > 1 A cm −2 , but, simultaneously, average power applied in the HiPIMS discharge is similar to DC magnetron sputtering. These conditions result in a high degree of ionization of sputtered particles. Thus, the deposited films have higher density, better adhesion, and 3D objects such as trenches, etc. and can be more uniformly coated as well [21][22][23]. Recently, reactive HiPIMS in various gas mixtures has been used for the deposition of oxides, nitrides, and other materials [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31].In this paper, we will present the first study of plasma parameters in the reactive HiPIMS in Ar + H 2 S gas mixture whose results could be further used for the optimization of deposition of iron sulfide thin films or other types of sulfides. ExperimentalThe experimental setup of the reactive HiPIMS in Ar + H 2 S gas mixture can be seen in Figure 1. The system is equipped with a pure iron Fe target with an outer diameter of 50 mm and a thickness of 0.8 mm. The stainless-steel reactor vacuum chamber is continuously pumped by a combination of turbomolecular (pumping speed S t = 250 L·s −1 ) and rotary vane pumps (pumping speed S r = 25 m 3 h −1 ). The gas flow rates of Ar (99.9999%) and pure H 2 S (99.5%) are independently controlled by two mass flow controllers. It is useful to note that H 2 S is an inflammable and highly toxic gas. Consequently, the use of H 2 S in a laboratory is subject to approval by a respective official body. The pressure in the reactor cham...

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Room temperature deposition of homogeneous, highly transparent and conductive Al-doped ZnO films by reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering

Cited by 76 publications

References 34 publications

Possibilities of Increasing the Usability of Sputtered AZO Films as a Transparent Electrode

Possibilities of Increasing the Usability of Sputtered AZO Films as a Transparent Electrode

Physical investigations on transparent conducting Mo:ZnO thin films

Plasma Diagnostics in Reactive High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering System Working in Ar + H2S Gas Mixture

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