Extremely Transparent and Conductive ZnO:Al Thin Films Prepared by Photo-Assisted Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (photo-MOCVD) Using AlCl3(6H2O) as New Doping Material

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Abstract
Extremely transparent and conductive ZnO:Al thin films were successfully prepared by a photo-assisted metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (photo-MOCVD) technique at a temperature of 140° C using diethylzinc and H2O as source materials. The vapor from an aqueous solution of aluminum chloride hydrate ( AlCl3(6H2O)) was used as a doping gas. ZnO:Al thin films with a minimum resistivity of 6.22×10-4 Ω cm were obtained. Their total transmittance at 550 nm was 91%. Moreover, the average transmittance in the wavelength region of 400 nm to 1200 nm was over 91%. The new Al-doping method using AlCl3(6H2O) by the photo-MOCVD, proposed for the first time in this study, is economical as well as safe, and high-quality ZnO:Al can be successfully applied to a transparent conductive electrode for large area thin-film solar cells.