Synthesis and characterization of Aluminium and Indium co-doped Zinc Oxide thin films prepared by Pulsed Laser deposition

Abstract

Aluminium-Indium co-doped ZnO (AIZO) thin films were prepared by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique on glass substrates. The structural, optical and surface morphology properties of the AIZO thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-visible) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The transmittance was found to be in the range of 81% in the visible region. XRD reveals that these films are oriented along c-axis and have hexagonal wurtzite structure. The reflection peak from the (002) plane is observed at 32.20 with a slight shift towards lower 2θ value as compared to undoped ZnO, suggesting enhanced out of plane lattice parameter as compared to undoped ZnO film. The surface morphology of the AIZO thin films were affected due to the presence of Aluminium and Indium. The particle size and roughness of the ZnO and aluminium-indium co doped ZnO thin film were estimated to be 33 nm, 3.8 nm and for AIZO thin films are 101 nm and 11 nm respectively.