Properties of ZnO:Al thin films prepared by a single target sputtering

ZnO:Al films were prepared by an rf magnetron sputtering and targets for the experiments were fabricated by sintering the mixture of ZnO and Al2O3. The most conductive film was obtained from the target with 2.0∼2.2 wt.% of Al2O3. Optical properties studied with spectroscopic ellipsometry showed band gap widening, i.e., the Burstein-Moss shift, with aluminum doping as well as with the elevation of deposition temperature. And it is found that the optical and electrical properties were related to the density of states as well as the variation of donor level. when hydrogen atoms were introduced into the films, the activation energy for the generation of oxygen vacancy was smaller for the films showing higher conductivity. This indicates that the optimum deposition condition for highly conductive ZnO:Al film has strong relation to the optimum doping condition.