Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
500 nm-thick aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin film is usually used as a front transparent conductive oxide (TCO) contact on photovoltaic devices, and for this application is often deposited by a reactive radio-frequency (r.f.) magnetron sputtering system from a ceramic target. This work reports on the preparation and characterization of AZO thin films on Corning 1737 glass substrates grown by reactive r.f.-magnetron sputtering from a ZnO ceramic target with 2 wt% Al content. It was found that the growth parameters, such as chamber pressure, working power, and deposition temperature, have significant influences on the properties of AZO films. According to the experimental results: (1) Films were polycrystalline showing a strong preferred c-axis orientation. (2) With increasing working power, the resistivity decreased, and mobility and the carrier concentration increased. (3) Lower deposition temperature leads to a decrease in resistivity, with 2.5×10-4 Ω-cm representing the lowest resistivity reached.