Al-doped ZnO thin films deposited by reactive frequency magnetron sputtering: H2-induced property changes

Abstract Al-doped ZnO (AZO) transparent conductive thin films have been prepared by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering with a ceramic target (98 wt.% ZnO, 2 wt.% Al 2 O 3 ) in different Ar + H 2 ambient at a substrate temperature of 200 °C. To investigate the influence of H 2 -flow on the properties of AZO films, H 2 -flow was changed during the growth process with a fixed Ar-flow of 60 sccm. The results indicate that H 2 -flow has a considerable influence on the transparent conductive properties of AZO films. The low resistivity in the order of 10 − 4 Ω cm and the high average transmittance more than 92% in the visible range were obtained for the samples prepared in the optimal H 2 -flow range from 0.4 sccm to 1.0 sccm. In addition, the influence of H 2 -flow on the structure and composition of AZO films have also been studied.