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Impact of Al and In co-doping on transmittance, bandgap energy, and electrical characteristics of ZnO films for TCO applications

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Abstract

The modification of morphology, electrical parameters, transmittance, and optical bandgap energy in ZnO films doped with donor impurities: Al and In atoms, has been investigated. The In content in the films was kept constant equal to 2.0 at.%, but the Al contents varied from 1.0 to 3.5 at.%. The films were then annealed for oxidation and crystallization in a flow of nitrogen at 400 °C for 4 h. A non-monotonic variation of all parameters has been detected, such as chemical compositions, surface morphology, transmittance, and energy bandgap with varying Al contents in the ZnO:Al:In nanocrystal (NC) films. The transmittance, measured in the visible and near-ultraviolet spectral ranges, was estimated to be almost 80–90%. The elastic stresses in the films, related to the doping process, were reduced by using elements with smaller and bigger ionic radii than those of Zn ions. The latter allows moving the beginning of the generation of self-compensating defects in the films toward higher donor contents. Finally, the electrical resistivity in the ZnO:In:Al films was achieved as 2.2 × 10−4 Ω cm. Non-monotonic variation of film characteristics is discussed.

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Experimental results are available from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the financial support of SIP-IPN, Mexico (pt. 20231275 and 20231450).

Funding

Funding was provided by Secretaría de Investigación y Posgrado, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Grant Nos. 20231275, 20231450).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, UPIITA, 07320, Mexico City, Mexico

    B. El Filali & I. Ch. Ballardo Rodríguez

  2. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, ESFM, 07738, Mexico City, Mexico

    T. V. Torchynska

  3. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, ESIME Zac., 07738, Mexico City, Mexico

    G. Polupan

  4. Instituto Politécnico Nacional, ENCB, 11350, Mexico City, Mexico

    J. Douda

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  1. B. El Filali
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  2. T. V. Torchynska
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Contributions

B el F prepared ZnO:In:Al films by spray pyrolysis and discussed the data. T.T. developed the concept, analyzed and discussed the data, wrote the manuscript text, and gave technical and financial support from the resources of CONACYT and SIP-IPN projects. ICBR made SEM and EDS measurements and analyzed the data, J.D. performed the transmittance measurements and analyzed the results, G.P. carried out the electrical resistivity measurements, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript text.

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Correspondence to T. V. Torchynska.

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El Filali, B., Torchynska, T.V., Ballardo Rodríguez, I.C. et al. Impact of Al and In co-doping on transmittance, bandgap energy, and electrical characteristics of ZnO films for TCO applications. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 35, 1054 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-024-12773-4

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