Group III impurity doped ZnO films prepared by atmospheric pressure chemical–vapor deposition using zinc acetylacetonate and oxygen

Abstract Highly conductive and transparent ZnO thin films were prepared by atmospheric pressure CVD on glass substrates in the temperature range from 375 to 475°C. Aluminium acetylacetonate or gallium acetylacetonate were used as the dopant source of group III element. The resistivity of the films critically depends on the amount of dopants and changes in a range of 10−1 to 10−3 Ω cm. The lowest resistivity of 2.0×10−3 Ω cm was obtained in the Ga-doped films deposited at the substrate temperature of 425°C. X-ray diffraction results show that all deposited films were polycrystalline in nature with (002) preferred orientation. The electron concentration and Hall mobility of the film with the lowest resistivity are 5.9×1019 cm−3 and 31 cm2 V−1 s, respectively.