Open AccessTunable physical properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films by O2 and Ar plasma treatments
Author(s) -
Young-Hee Joo,
DooSeung Um,
Chang-Il Kim
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
materials research express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.383
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2053-1591
DOI - 10.1088/2053-1591/ac3f0a
Subject(s) - materials science , thin film , doping , plasma , indium tin oxide , sheet resistance , band gap , surface roughness , indium , work function , oxide , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , layer (electronics) , composite material , metallurgy , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Al-doped ZnO (AZO) is a promising transparent conducting oxide that can replace indium tin oxide (ITO) owing to its excellent flexibility and eco-friendly characteristics. However, it is difficult to immediately replace ITO with AZO because of the difference in their physical properties. Here, we study the changes in the physical properties of AZO thin films using Ar and O 2 plasma treatments. Ar plasma treatment causes the changes in the surface and physical properties of the AZO thin film. The surface roughness of the AZO thin film decreases, the work function and bandgap slightly increase, and the sheet resistance significantly decreases. In contrast, a large work function change is observed in the AZO thin film treated with O 2 plasma; however, the change in other characteristics is not significant. Therefore, the results indicate that post-treatment using plasma can accelerate the development of high-performance transparent devices.