Top

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology

Published in:

24-02-2024 | Original Paper

Systematic optimization of sol–gel processed Al-doped ZnO for cost-effective transparent conductive oxide

Authors: Nurul Affiqah Arzaee, Fazliyana Izzati Za’abar, Mohd Shaparuddin Bahrudin, Akmal Zaini Arsad, Nurul Izzati Azman, Mohd Nazri Abd Rahman, Wan Syakirah Wan Abdullah, Chien Fat Chau, Ahmad Wafi Mahmood Zuhdi

Published in: Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology | Issue 1/2024

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

Solution-based fabrication method has gained increasing attention as an alternative low-cost approach for developing transparent conducting oxide (TCO). Systematic optimization of the deposition process can greatly facilitate the formation of thin film with well-balanced optical and electrical properties. In this work, Al-doped ZnO (AZO) layer is grown by sol–gel spin-coating and various fabrication parameters are finely tuned. It is discovered that 2-methoxyethanol is the preferable solvent that produces less morphological defect in the formed AZO film. By using dynamic spin-coating, wrinkle structure is formed, which may be beneficial for reducing light loss. Further control of film thickness by changing the respective spin speed and number of layers to 3000 rpm and 3 layers enables the transparency to reach over 90% and the resistivity to be 3.22 × 10³ Ω cm. The practicability of the optimized AZO has been demonstrated in the CIGS solar cells as front contact, suggesting that the solution-based route is a potential alternative for developing low-cost TCO.

Graphical Abstract

previous article Selective removal of Cu(II) ions by magnetic mesoporous silica with surface ion-imprinted quaternized Schiff base coating

next article Green recycling of red brick waste into aerogel panels for thermal insulation in buildings

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Available only for authorised users

Cheng K, Liu J, Jin R et al. (2017) Surface microstructure evolution of highly transparent and conductive Al-doped ZnO thin films and its application in CIGS solar cells. Appl Surf Sci 409:124–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.03.044CrossRef

Liu W-S, Cheng H-M, Hu H-C et al. (2015) Indium tin oxide with titanium doping for transparent conductive film application on CIGS solar cells. Appl Surf Sci 354:31–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2015.02.130CrossRef

Lee W-J, Cho D-H, Kim YD et al. (2019) Thermally evaporated amorphous InZnO thin film applicable to transparent conducting oxide for solar cells. J Alloy Compd 806:976–982. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2019.07.321CrossRef

Fan Y, Liu Y, Niu L et al. (2021) Efficient extraction and separation of indium from waste indium–tin oxide (ITO) targets by enhanced ammonium bisulfate leaching. Sep Purif Technol 269:118766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2021.118766CrossRef

Wang M, Choy K-L (2016) All-nonvacuum-processed CIGS solar cells using scalable Ag NWs/AZO-based transparent electrodes. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 8:16640–16648. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6b02137CrossRefPubMed

Zhu H, Niu X, Wan M, Mai Y (2019) A study of ZnO:Al thin films reactively sputtered under the control of target voltage for application in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ thin film solar cells. Vacuum 161:297–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2018.12.053CrossRef

Nosidlak N, Jaglarz J, Dulian P et al. (2022) The thermo-optical and optical properties of thin ZnO and AZO films produced using the atomic layer deposition technology. J Alloy Compd 900:163313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.163313CrossRef

Wang Y, Xu G, Yang J et al. (2022) Fabrication of AZO and FAZO films using low-cost spin-coating method. Opt Mater 126:112204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2022.112204CrossRef

Ozório MS, Nascimento MR, Vieira DH et al. (2019) AZO transparent electrodes grown in situ during the deposition of zinc acetate dihydrate onto aluminum thin film by spray pyrolysis. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 30:13454–13461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-019-01713-2CrossRef

10.

Kumar KDA, Valanarasu S, Rosario SR et al. (2018) Evaluation of the structural, optical and electrical properties of AZO thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition for optoelectronics. Solid State Sci 78:58–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solidstatesciences.2018.02.003CrossRef

11.

Solovyev AA, Rabotkin SV, Shipilova AV, Ionov IV (2019) Magnetron sputtering of gadolinium-doped ceria electrolyte for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Int J Electrochem Sci 14:575–584. https://doi.org/10.20964/2019.01.03CrossRef

12.

Wen B, Liu C, Fei W et al. (2014) Effect of doped boron on the properties of ZnO thin films prepared by sol-gel spin coating. Chem Res Chin Univ 30:509–512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40242-014-3497-0CrossRef

13.

Khan MdI, Neha TR, Billah MdM (2022) UV-irradiated sol-gel spin coated AZO thin films: enhanced optoelectronic properties. Heliyon 8:e08743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e08743CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

14.

Ng Z-N, Chan K-Y, Tohsophon T (2012) Effects of annealing temperature on ZnO and AZO films prepared by sol–gel technique. Appl Surf Sci 258:9604–9609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.05.156CrossRef

15.

Kim Y-S, Tai W-P (2007) Electrical and optical properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films by sol–gel process. Appl Surf Sci 253:4911–4916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2006.10.068CrossRef

16.

Chaitra U, Muhammed Ali AV, Mahesha MG et al. (2021) Property evaluation of spin coated Al doped ZnO thin films and Au/AZO/FTO Schottky diodes. Superlattices Microstruct 155:106903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spmi.2021.106903CrossRef

17.

Li J, Sathasivam S, Taylor A et al. (2018) Single step route to highly transparent, conductive and hazy aluminium doped zinc oxide films. RSC Adv 8:42300–42307. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8RA09338ECrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

18.

Necib K, Touam T, Chelouche A et al. (2018) Investigation of the effects of thickness on physical properties of AZO sol-gel films for photonic device applications. J Alloy Compd 735:2236–2246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2017.11.361CrossRef

19.

Ambedkar AK, Singh M, Kumar V et al. (2020) Structural, optical and thermoelectric properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis. Surf Interfaces 19:100504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2020.100504CrossRef

20.

Islam MR, Rahman M, Farhad SFU, Podder J (2019) Structural, optical and photocatalysis properties of sol–gel deposited Al-doped ZnO thin films. Surf Interfaces 16:120–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfin.2019.05.007CrossRef

21.

Arzaee NA, Mohamad Noh MF, Aadenan A et al. (2022) Accelerating the controlled synthesis of WO₃ photoanode by modifying aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Chem Eng Sci 252:117294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2021.117294CrossRef

22.

Dondapati H, Santiago K, Pradhan AK (2013) Influence of growth temperature on electrical, optical, and plasmonic properties of aluminum:zinc oxide films grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. J Appl Phys 114. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4824751

23.

Majeed Khan MA, Kumar S, Naziruddin Khan M et al. (2014) Microstructure and blueshift in optical band gap of nanocrystalline Al_xZn_1−xO thin films. J Lumin 155:275–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2014.06.007CrossRef

24.

Kashif M, Hashim U, Ali ME et al. (2012) Effect of different seed solutions on the morphology and electrooptical properties of ZnO nanorods. J Nanomater 2012:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/452407CrossRef

25.

Moezzi A, Cortie MB, Shimmon R, McDonagh AM (2013) On the reactivity of zinc hydroxide acetate dihydrate in ethanol. Eur J Inorg Chem 2013:5133–5137. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejic.201300650CrossRef

26.

Wu C-Y, Chiu L-C, Juang J-Y (2022) High haze Ga and Zr co-doped zinc oxide transparent electrodes for photovoltaic applications. J Alloy Compd 901:163678. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2022.163678CrossRef

27.

Welchel Z, DeSilva LA, Banadara TMWJ (2020) Properties of tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum thin films fabricated by spin coating from static and dynamic dispense methods. Opt Mater 108:110447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2020.110447CrossRef

28.

Lim DC, Shim WH, Kim K-D et al. (2011) Spontaneous formation of nanoripples on the surface of ZnO thin films as hole-blocking layer of inverted organic solar cells. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2011.06.028

29.

Park H-Y, Lim D, Kim K-D, Jang S-Y (2013) Performance optimization of low-temperature-annealed solution-processable ZnO buffer layers for inverted polymer solar cells. J Mater Chem A 1:6327. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ta10637cCrossRef

30.

Sekine N, Chou C-H, Kwan WL, Yang Y (2009) ZnO nano-ridge structure and its application in inverted polymer solar cell. Org Electron 10:1473–1477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2009.08.011CrossRef

31.

Tsang WM, Wong FL, Fung MK et al. (2008) Transparent conducting aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin film prepared by sol–gel process followed by laser irradiation treatment. Thin Solid Films 517:891–895. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2008.08.157CrossRef

32.

Guillén C, Herrero J (2010) Optical, electrical and structural characteristics of Al:ZnO thin films with various thicknesses deposited by DC sputtering at room temperature and annealed in air or vacuum. Vacuum 84:924–929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2009.12.015CrossRef

33.

Maria KH, Kabir RMD, Esha IN et al. (2023) Characterization of tin disulfide thin films prepared by spin coating technique: effect of spin speed and deposition time on film properties. J Inst Eng (India) Ser B 104:1011–1021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40031-023-00888-xCrossRef

34.

Mouele ESM, Ngqoloda S, Pescetelli S et al. (2020) Spin coating immobilisation of C-N-TiO₂ Co-doped nano catalyst on glass and application for photocatalysis or as electron transporting layer for perovskite solar cells. Coatings 10:1029. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10111029CrossRef

35.

Hamrit S, Djessas K, Brihi N et al. (2016) The effect of thickness on the physico-chemical properties of nanostructured ZnO:Al TCO thin films deposited on flexible PEN substrates by RF-magnetron sputtering from a nanopowder target. Ceram Int 42:16212–16219. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2016.07.143CrossRef

36.

Mohamad Noh MF, Arzaee NA, Safaei J et al. (2019) Eliminating oxygen vacancies in SnO₂ films via aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition for perovskite solar cells and photoelectrochemical cells. J Alloy Compd 773:997–1008. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.09.273CrossRef

37.

Chen W-F, Koshy P, Sorrell CC (2016) Effects of film topology and contamination as a function of thickness on the photo-induced hydrophilicity of transparent TiO₂ thin films deposited on glass substrates by spin coating. J Mater Sci 51:2465–2480. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-015-9559-yCrossRef

38.

Arzaee NA, Mohamad Noh MF, Ab Halim A et al. (2019) Aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition of α-Fe₂O₃ nanoflowers for photoelectrochemical water splitting. Ceram Int 45:16797–16802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.05.219CrossRef

39.

Ke W, Zhao D, Cimaroli AJ et al. (2015) Effects of annealing temperature of tin oxide electron selective layers on the performance of perovskite solar cells. J Mater Chem A 3:24163–24168. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA06574GCrossRef

40.

Goktas OF, Koksal NE, Kaplan O, Yildiz A (2021) Sol–gel prepared ZnO:Al thin films for heterojunction diodes. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 32:7791–7800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-05498-1CrossRef

41.

Mohamad Noh MF, Soh MF, Riza MA et al. (2018) Effect of film thickness on photoelectrochemical performance of SnO₂ prepared via AACVD. Phys Status Solidi (b) 255:1700570. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssb.201700570CrossRef

42.

Noh MFM, Soh MF, Teh CH et al. (2017) Effect of temperature on the properties of SnO₂ layer fabricated via AACVD and its application in photoelectrochemical cells and organic photovoltaic devices. Sol Energy 158:474–482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.09.048CrossRef

43.

Anand A, Islam MM, Meitzner R et al. (2021) Introduction of a novel figure of merit for the assessment of transparent conductive electrodes in photovoltaics: exact and approximate form. Adv Energy Mater 11. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202100875

44.

Hemmous M, Layadi A, Guittoum A et al. (2014) Structure, surface morphology and electrical properties of evaporated Ni thin films: effect of substrates, thickness and Cu underlayer. Thin Solid Films 562:229–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2014.04.066CrossRef

Title: Systematic optimization of sol–gel processed Al-doped ZnO for cost-effective transparent conductive oxide
Authors: Nurul Affiqah Arzaee
Fazliyana Izzati Za’abar
Mohd Shaparuddin Bahrudin
Akmal Zaini Arsad
Nurul Izzati Azman
Mohd Nazri Abd Rahman
Wan Syakirah Wan Abdullah
Chien Fat Chau
Ahmad Wafi Mahmood Zuhdi
Publication date: 24-02-2024
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology / Issue 1/2024
Print ISSN: 0928-0707
Electronic ISSN: 1573-4846
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-024-06340-w

Springer Professional

Abstract

Graphical Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Technik"

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Other articles of this Issue 1/2024

Template free aqueous solution synthesized microporous In2S3 for water purification

Effectiveness of photocatalysis of Fe78Si9B13/TiO2 composites for acid orange 7 degradation

Facile synthesis of magnetic-fluorescent iron oxide-geothermal silica core/shell nanocomposites via modified sol–gel method

Perovskite-type catalyst for tetracycline abatement under dark ambient over a wide pH range

Nitrogen-rich hollow carbon microspheres with tunable shell thicknesses for enhanced CO2 adsorption

Eco-friendly fabrication of CdO nanoparticles using Polyalthia longifolia leaves extract for antibacterial and electrochemical sensing studies

Premium Partners