Optical Properties of Aluminum Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

The detailed study of optical transmittance and reflectance in Al-doped ZnO thin films prepared by rf magnetron sputtering is described. Films obtained with Al 2 O 3 content up to 10 wt% showed an average transmittance above 85% in the visible range. The absorption edge was blue-shifted with increasing carrier concentration. The shift was interpreted to be a result of competition between many body effects and the Burstein-Moss effect. It is shown that films obtained with an Al 2 O 3 content of 1–2 wt% can achieve an excellent IR shielding.