A Study of Annealing Time Effects on the Properties of Al:ZnO

ZnO:Al films with Al/Zn atomic ratio of 1% were prepared on quartz glass by a sol-gel process. The films were annealed in argon at 500 degrees C. The annealing time varied between 1h and 5h. The effects of annealing time on the properties of ZnO: Al films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical transmittance and four-point probe method. The results showed that the films exhibited c-axis preferred orientation after annealing for 1h. The transmittance in the visual region was similar to 80%, and the conductivity was 4x10(-2) Omega.cm. As the annealing time increased, the crystal preferred orientation was absent, and the conductivity increased. (c) 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Garry Lee