Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol.47, No.1, 85-93, 2017
Thick-film electrochemical growth of Al-doped zinc oxide
-thick Al:ZnO films were galvanostatically grown. The propensity for to both be absorbed into the ZnO film as well as react with in the growth solution required developing a method to continuously introduce new dopant to the growth solution to maintain dopant levels throughout the deposition. Film thickness, transparency, morphology, aluminium content, crystallinity, and electrical resistivity as a function of approximate dopant concentration was examined. Limits in dopant concentration during growth were determined, with concentrations exceeding causing layers of aluminium hydroxide to deposit on the film. Low-temperature annealing was performed to encourage thermal decomposition of any remaining in the film, and the resulting effects on film opacity, morphology, and resistivity were described. A transparent film consisting of 1.72% molar concentration of aluminium was produced with a through-film resistivity of , less than the undoped film.