Al-doped ZnO(AZO) thin films were synthesized using atomid layer deposition(ALD), which acurately controlledthe uniform film thickness of the AZO thin films. To investigate the electrical and optical properites of the AZO thin films,AZO films using ALD was controlled to be three different thicknesses (50nm, 100nm, and 150nm). The structural, chemical,electrical, and optical properties of the AZO thin films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,field-emssion scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Hall measurement system, and UV-Visspectrophotometry. As the thickness of the AZO thin films increased, the crystallinity of the AZO thin films gradually increased,and the surface morphology of the AZO thin films were transformed from a porous structure to a dense structure. The averagesurface roughnesses of the samples using atomic force microscopy were ~3.01nm, ~2.89nm, and ~2.44nm, respectively. Asthe thickness of the AZO filmsincreased, the surface roughness decreased gradually. These results affect the electrical and opticalproperties of AZO thin films. Therefore, the thickest AZO thin films with 150nm exhibited excellent resistivity (~7.00×10−4Ω·cm), high transmittance (~83.2%), and the best FOM (5.71×10−3Ω−1). AZO thin films fabricated using ALD may be usedas a promising cadidate of TCO materials for optoelectronic applications.

La doped CuO-ZnO-Al2O3 powders are prepared by sol-gel method with aluminum isopropoxide and primarydistilled water as precursor and solvent. In this synthesized process, the obtained metal oxides caused the precursor such ascopper (II) nitrate hydrate and zinc (II) nitrate hexahydrate were added. To improve the surface areas of La doped CuO-ZnO-Al2O3 powder, sorbitan (z)-mono-9-octadecenoate (Span 80) was added. The synthesized powder was calcined at varioustemperatures. The dopant was found to affect the surface area and particle size of the mixed oxide, in conjunction with thecalcined temperature. The structural analysis and textual properties of the synthesized powder were measured with an X-rayDiffractometer (XRD), a Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Bruner-Emmett-Teller surface analysis (BET),Thermogravimetry-Differential Thermal analysis (TG/DTA), 27Al solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and transforminfrared microspectroscopy (FT-IR). An increase of surface area with Span 80 was observed on La doped CuO-ZnO-Al2O3powders from 25m2/g to 41m2/g.

Abstract In this study characteristics of Al-doped ZnO thin film by HIPIMS (High power impulse sputtering) are discussed. Deposition speed of HIPIMS with conventional balanced magnetic field is measured at about 3 nm/min, which is 30% of that of conventional RF sputtering process with the same working pressure. To generate additional magnetic flux and increase sputtering speed, electromagnetic coil is mounted at the back side of target. Under unbalanced magnetic flux from electromagnet with 1.5A coil current, deposition speed of AZO thin film is increased from 3 nm/min to 4.4 nm/min. This new value originates from the decline of particles near target surface due to the local magnetic flux going toward substrate from electromagnet. AZO film sputtered by HIPIMS process shows very smooth and dense film surface for which surface roughness is measured from 0.4 nm to 1 nm. There are no voids or defects in morphology of AZO films with varying of magnetic field. When coil current is increased from 0A to 1A, transmittance of AZO thin film decreases from 80% to 77%. Specific resistance is measured at about 2.9×10-2Ω·cm. AZO film shows C-axis oriented structure and its grain size is calculated at about 5.3 nm, which is lower than grain size in conventional sputtering.

Various thicknesses of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films were deposited on glass substrate using pulsed dcmagnetron sputtering with a cylindrical target designed for large-area high-speed deposition. The structural,electrical, and optical properties of the films of various thicknesses were characterized. All deposited AZO filmshave (0002) preferred orientation with the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. Crystal quality and surfacemorphology of the films changed according to the film thickness. The samples with higher surface roughnessexhibited lower Hall mobility. Analysis of the measured data of the optical band gap and the carrierconcentration revealed that there were no changes for all the film thicknesses. The optical transmittances weremore than 85% regardless of film thickness within the visible wavelength region. The lowest resistivity,4.13×10-4Ω·cm-1, was found in 750nm films with an electron mobility (µ) of 10.6cm2V-1s-1 and a carrierconcentration (n) of 1.42×1021cm-3.

We investigated the NO gas sensing characteristics of ZnO-carbon nanotube (ZnO-CNT) layered composites fabricated by coaxial coating of single-walled CNTs with a thin layer of 1 wt% Al-doped ZnO using rf magnetron sputtering deposition. Morphological studies clearly revealed that the ZnO appeared to form beadshaped crystalline nanoparticles with an average diameter as small as 30 nm, attaching to the surface of the nanotubes. It was found that the NO gas sensing properties of the ZnO-CNT layered composites were dramatically improved over Al-doped ZnO thin films. It is reasoned from these observations that an increase in the surface-to-volume ratio associated with the numerous ZnO “nanobeads” on the surface of the CNTs results in the enhancement of the NO gas sensing properties. The ZnO-CNT layered composite sensors exhibited a maximum sensitivity of 13.7 to 2 ppm NO gas at a temperature of 200˚C and a low NO gas detection limit of 0.2 ppm in dry air.

In this study we investigated the effect of the multi-step texturing process on the electrical and optical properties of hydrogenated Al-doped zinc oxide (HAZO) thin films deposited by rf magnetron sputtering. AZO films on glass were prepared by changing the H2/(Ar+H2) ratio at a low temperature of 150˚C. The prepared HAZO films showed lower resistivity and higher carrier concentration and mobility than those of non-hydrogenated AZO films. After deposition, the surface of the HAZO films was multi-step textured in diluted HCl (0.5%) for the investigation of the change in the optical properties and the surface morphology due to etching. As a result, the HAZO film fabricated under the type III condition showed excellent optical properties with a haze value of 52.3%.

This study examined the effect of growth temperature on the electrical and optical properties ofhydrogenated Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO:H) thin films deposited by rf magnetron sputtering using a ceramictarget (98wt.% ZnO, 2wt.% Al2O3). Various AZO films on glass were prepared by changing the substratetemperature from room temperature to 200oC. It was shown that intentionally incorporated hydrogen plays animportant role on the electrical properties of AZO:H films by increasing free carrier concentration. As a result,in the 2% H2 addition at the growth temperature of 150oC, resistivity of 3.21×10-4Ω·cm, mobility of 21.9cm2/V−s, electric charge carrier concentration of 9.35×1020cm-3 was obtained. The AZO:H films show a hexagonalwurtzite structure preferentially oriented in the (002) crystallographic direction.

첨가제로 Al2O3가 포함된 ZnO 소결체가 타깃을 이용하여 RF 마그네트론 스퍼터링법으로 Al이 첨가된 ZnO박막을 증착하고, 타깃에 첨가된 Al2O3</TEX>의 농도와 증착시 스퍼터링장치내의 기판위치에 따른 박막의 물성 변화를 고찰하였다. 타깃의 Al2O3 첨가농도가 2wt%인 경우에 비저항치 8 × 10-3 Ω-cm인 박막이 증차되었다. 또한 Al2O3</TEX>가 2wt%이상 첨가된 경우는 모든 Al이 박막내부에서 Zn를 치환하여 전자주게로의 역할을 하지 못하고, 오히려 치환되지 못한 Al원자의 중성 불순물 산란효과에 의해 박막의 비저항이 증가하였다. 타깃의 마모영역 위에서 증착된 Al을 첨가한 ZnO 박막은 그 영역 KR에서 증착된 박막보다 높은 비저항값을 나타냈으며, 이는 큰 에너지를 가지는 산소입자의 충돌에 기인한 것으로 여겨진다.