Preparation and characterization of n-type conductive (Al, Co) co-doped ZnO thin films deposited by sputtering from aerogel nanopowders

摘要

Highly transparent, n-type conducting ZnO thin films were obtained by low temperature magnetron sputtering of (Co, Al) co-doped ZnO nanocrystalline aerogels. The nanoparticles of ～30 nm size were synthesized by a sol-gel method using supercritical drying in ethyl alcohol. The structural, optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. The ZnO films were polycrystalline textured, preferentially oriented with the (002) crystallographic direction normal to the film plane. The films show within the visible wavelength region an optical transmittance of more than 90% and a low electrical resistivity of 3.5 × 10~(-4) Ω cm at room temperature.