Studies on the Optical and Electrical Properties of Transparent, Conductive Gallium-Doped Zinc Oxide with Ag Nanoparticles

Ag nanoparticles were deposited on top of a gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) layer utilizing a pulsed current electrodeposition method. Scanning electron microscopy images confirmed that the formation of Ag nanoparticles spanning several tens of nanometers in diameter occurred, which were able to reduce the sheet resistance of GZO film by approximately 28% compared with the bare GZO film. The reduced sheet resistance of the GZO film was mainly attributed to the increase in the electron concentration on the GZO surface. Absorption and photoluminescence (PL) data showed that both the increased absorption and the PL intensity of the GZO films with Ag nanoparticles were due to the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon of the Ag nanoparticles' conduction electrons.