ZnO Transparent Conducting Thin Films Prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition Using Heated Mesh

Abstract

The thin films of ZnO doped with 4 wt% Ga2O3 were deposited on glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition using an ArF excimer laser (λ= 193 nm). A heated mesh was given was arranged between the target and the substrate. In all experiments, repetition rates of 10 Hz, the energy density of 1 J/cm2, and an ablation time of 60 min were used. A lowest resistivity of 3.71×10-4 Ω·cm and an optical transmittance of more than 80% in the visible range of the spectrum were obtained for ZnO doped with 4 wt% Ga2O3 films of more than 200-nm thickness fabricated at a substrate temperature of R.T. and a gas flow rate in O2 of 4 sccm. Smooth surfaces with an average surface roughness of 1.1 nm were observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).