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Highly transparent, UV‐B protective Al–Zn–O films with potential application in greenhouse screen systems
Author(s) -
Kosari Mehr Abbas,
Hantehzadeh Mohammad Reza,
Darabi Elham
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of applied ceramic technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.4
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1744-7402
pISSN - 1546-542X
DOI - 10.1111/ijac.13176
Subject(s) - materials science , transmittance , oxygen , scanning electron microscope , sputter deposition , argon , spectroscopy , visible spectrum , thin film , analytical chemistry (journal) , sputtering , band gap , optics , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , composite material , chemistry , environmental chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Extremely thin, Al–Zn–O composite films (21 ± 6 nm) are deposited on fused silica substrates under various percentages of oxygen in the oxygen/argon gas mixture (3%, 4.5%, 6%, and 7.5%). The films are prepared by a cylindrical DC magnetron sputtering system, utilizing a single compound target. The effects of the oxygen percentage on the compositional, morphological, and optical properties of the films are investigated by energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, UV‐visible spectrophotometry, and atomic force microscopy. The chemical composition of the films is Al 1 Zn 1+X O with 0.2 < X < 1. The average visible transmittance of 93.6% with a high level of uniformity is obtained when the sputtering deposition performs under the oxygen percentage of 6%. It is found that the optical band gap of the films can be tailored toward higher energy by increasing oxygen percentage; however, the adjustable range is not so significant. The results offer cost‐efficient films with high, uniform transmittance in the visible region and with an ability to attenuate more than 10% of incident UV‐B radiation (280‐315 nm). This type of films can potentially be included in greenhouse screen systems to effectively protect the plants from the elevated UV‐B radiation without altering natural conditions.