Effect of annealing temperature on properties of spin coated AZO films

Abstract Transparent conductive aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were prepared on quartz substrates by spin coating method with different annealing temperatures. The structural, electrical and optical properties of AZO thin films were investigated. The AZO thin films had a hexagonal wurtzite structure and the orientation of the sample was along the c-axis, regardless of annealing temperature. Also the modified transmittance of AZO thin films in the visible range (400–800 nm) was over 85%. The experimental results showed that the electrical resistivity of AZO films decreased with increasing annealing temperature from 400 to 500°C but increased with annealing temperature from 500 to 700°C. The lowest electrical resistivity obtained in this study was 1·01 Ω cm for the film annealed at 500°C in oxygen.

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