Effect of Annealing Conditions on Properties of Sol-Gel Derived Al-Doped ZnO Thin Films

Transparent conductive Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films are prepared on normal glass substrates by the sol-gel spin coating method. The effects of drying conditions, annealing temperature and cooling rate on the structural, electrical and optical properties of AZO films are investigated by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, the four-point probe method and UV-VIS spectrophotometry, respectively. The deposited films show a hexagonal wurtzite structure and high preferential c-axis orientation. As the drying temperature increases from 100 degrees C to 300 degrees C the resistivity of AZO films decreases dramatically. In contrast to the annealed films cooled in a furnace and in air, the resistivity of the annealed film which is cooled at -15 degrees C is greatly reduced. Increasing the cooling rate dramatically increases the electrical conductivity of AZO films.