Structural and electrical properties of Al doped ZnO thin films deposited at room temperature on poly(vinilidene fluoride) substrates

Abstract Transparent, conducting, Al-doped ZnO films have been deposited, by dc and pulsed dc magnetron sputtering, on glass and electroactive polymer (poly(vinylidene fluoride)–PVDF) substrates. Samples have been prepared at room temperature varying the argon sputtering pressure, after optimizing other processing conditions. All ZnO:Al films are polycrystalline and preferentially oriented along the [002] axis. Electrical resistivity around 3.3 × 10 − 3 Ω cm and optical transmittance of ~ 85% at 550 nm have been obtained for AZOY films deposited on glass, while a resistivity of 1.7 × 10 − 2 Ω cm and transmittance of ~ 70% at 550 nm have been attained in similar coatings on PVDF. One of the main parameters affecting film resistivity seems to be the roughness of the substrate.