Trajectory effect on the properties of large area ZnO thin films deposited by atmospheric pressure plasma jet

Large area (117 mm x 185 mm) gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) films are prepared on glass substrates by atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) technique. The uniformity of material properties, in particular the electrical resistivity, of the deposited film is of great importance in reducing design complexity of the electron devices. We investigate the effects of scanning trajectory recipe (speed, pitch and number of passes) on structural and electrical properties of GZO thin films. We find that the trajectory has significant effects on the magnitude and uniformity of sheet resistance over the glass substrates. For single pass, the resistance appears higher at the starting part of spray, whereas, for cases of multiple passes, the highest resistance appears in the central part of the substrate. XRD, SEM, Hall measurement and residual stress are used to study the film properties and identify root causes of the nonuniform distribution of sheet resistance. We conclude that annealing time is the dominant root cause of the nonuniform resistance distribution, and other factors such as residual stress and structural characteristics may also have contributions. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.