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Effect of potential voltages on key functional properties of transparent AZO thin films prepared by electrochemical deposition method for optoelectronic applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2018

Karuppiah Deva Arun Kumar ,
Santiyagu Valanarasu ,
Vanga Ganesh ,
Mohd. Shkir ,
Salem AlFaify  and
Hamed Algarni
Karuppiah Deva Arun Kumar
Affiliation:
PG and Research Department of Physics, Arul Anandar College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625514, India
Santiyagu Valanarasu
Affiliation:
PG and Research Department of Physics, Arul Anandar College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625514, India
Vanga Ganesh
Affiliation:
Advanced Functional Materials & Optoelectronic Laboratory (AFMOL), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia
Mohd. Shkir*
Affiliation:
Advanced Functional Materials & Optoelectronic Laboratory (AFMOL), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia
Salem AlFaify
Affiliation:
Advanced Functional Materials & Optoelectronic Laboratory (AFMOL), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia
Hamed Algarni
Affiliation:
Advanced Functional Materials & Optoelectronic Laboratory (AFMOL), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: shkirphysics@gmail.com
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Abstract

The electrochemical technique has been used to prepare aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films on FTO substrates using zinc nitrate and aluminum chloride precursor solution at 70 °C. The crystal structure, surface morphology, optical and electrical features of AZO films were examined at different potential voltages from −1.7 to −2.3 V in the initial solution. Structural studies of the deposited films were carried out through X-ray diffraction; the AZO films exhibited a polycrystalline nature with hexagonal structure, and crystals preferentially grew along the (002) orientation. The morphology of the deposited films was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the images showed that the spherical- and nanorod-shaped particles are uniformly distributed on the entire AZO film surface. The average size is found to be in the range of 45–70 nm by SEM and 28–32 nm by using the Scherrer’s rule. The EDS spectrum confirmed the chemical composition of Zn, O, Al, Sn, and F elements over the film surface. The optical properties were studied using a UV-visible spectrophotometer, and the deposited film showed the highest optical transmittance of ∼80% in the visible range for −1.7 V. The calculated energy gap of the AZO films decreases from 3.09 to 2.97 eV with increasing potential voltages. AZO thin films have been studied using photoluminescence to identify the film’s optical quality with respect to the wavelength range. The electrical properties were studied by the room temperature Hall effect system, and the observed low resistivity (ρ) is 1.58 × 10−2 (Ω cm) for the film deposited using a −2.1 V potential voltage.

Keywords

FTO substrateAl-doped ZnOelectrochemical depositionstructural, optical, and electrical properties
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 33 , Issue 11 , 13 June 2018 , pp. 1523 - 1533
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2018 

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