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A Photochemically Induced Molecular Pathway to Smooth and Transparent Gallium‐Doped Zinc Oxide Ceramic
Author(s) -
Hoffmann Rudolf C.,
Schneider Jörg J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2010.04310.x
Subject(s) - zinc , materials science , gallium , thin film , doping , substrate (aquarium) , texture (cosmology) , ceramic , oxide , sintering , irradiation , surface finish , chemical engineering , mineralogy , optoelectronics , composite material , metallurgy , nanotechnology , chemistry , oceanography , physics , artificial intelligence , geology , computer science , nuclear physics , engineering , image (mathematics)
The photochemical conversion of the zinc oximato complex of di‐aqua‐bis[2‐(methoxyimino)propanoato]zinc 1 into zinc oxide thin films is introduced as an alternative route compared with the traditional thermal process. Irradiation of 1 by UV light produces smoother films with random orientation of crystalline grains, compared with the thermal route, which results in films with a high degree of (002) orientation (texture) toward the substrate. By addition of Ga(NO 3 ) 3 , gallium‐doped zinc oxide (GZO) thin films can be obtained after further sintering, e.g., in air. The GZO films exhibit a low surface roughness and a high optical transparency. Electrical resistivities as low as 7.4 × 10 −2 Ω·cm were observed, making it a candidate for application in the field of transparent conduction oxides.