Influence of Thermal Annealing on the Properties of Sol-Gel-Derived Al:ZnO Thin Films

Abstract:

Aluminium doped zinc oxide (Al:ZnO) thin films were prepared by a sol-gel dip coating process. In particular, the case of change of thermal annealing temperature was studied. The characterisation of the films by various analytical methods shows a correlation between thermal annealing temperature and characteristic of the film. The influence of the thermal annealing temperature on the film growth can be clearly observed. At lower thermal annealing temperatures, granular structure dominates the films, while the films feature a bigger grain growth at higher annealing temperatures. All films exhibited an average transmittance of greater than 85% in the visible region, with absorption edges at ~380 nm.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volume 1109)
• Pages: 186-190
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.1109.186
• Online since: June 2015
• Authors: Mohd Firdaus Malek, Mohamad Hafiz Mamat, M.Z. Musa, M. Rusop
• Keywords: Al:ZnO, FESEM, Sol Gel, UV-VIS

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