Thermal Stability of Aluminum Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films

Transparent conductive oxides are key electrode materials for thin film solar cells. Aluminum doped zinc oxide has become one of the most promising transparent conductive oxide (TCO) materials because of its excellent optical and electrical properties. In this work, aluminum doped zinc oxide thin films were prepared using RF magnetron sputtering of a 4 at% ceramic target. The thermal stability of aluminum doped zinc oxide thin films was studied using various physical and structural characterization methods. It was observed that the electrical conductivity of aluminum doped zinc oxide thin films deteriorated rapidly and unevenly when it was heated up to 350 °C. When the aluminum doped zinc oxide thin films were exposed to UV ozone for a short time before heating up, its thermal stability and large area homogeneity were significantly improved. The present work provided a novel method for improving the durability of aluminum doped zinc oxides as transparent conductive electrodes in thin film solar cells.