Physical properties of Al-doped ZnO films deposited on nonwoven substrates by radio frequence magnetron sputtering

In this study, the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) spunbonded nonwoven materials were used as substrates for creating electro-optical functional nanostructures on the fiber surfaces. A magnetron sputter coating was used to deposit Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films onto the nonwovens. The influences of the deposition time on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of AZO films were investigated. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to examine the topography of the fibers. The AFM observation revealed a significant difference in the morphology of the fibers before and after the AZO sputter coating. The examination by UV-visible spectrophotometer analysis showed that the nonwovens deposited with transparent nanostructure AZO films had better UV absorption, and an average transmittance was approximately 50% in the visible light wavelength region. The surface conductivity of the materials was analyzed using a four-probe meter, and it was found that electrical resistance was significantly decreased as the sputtering time increased.