Effect of substrate temperature on structural and optoelectrical properties of silver doped zinc oxide thin films

Silver doped zinc oxide (ZnAgO) thin films were grown on quartz substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. The effect of substrate temperature on structural, optical, and electrical properties was studied. The films grown at low temperatures were amorphous in nature, while films grown at high temperatures were crystalline. It is observed that the films are highly oriented along c-axis. The surface roughness of these films is observed to increase with substrate temperature; on the other hand optical transmittance is almost independent of substrate temperature. The mobility of the films increases with an increase in substrate temperature. The highest Hall mobility of 62 cm2/V s is observed for the film grown at 600 °C. These highly transparent and high mobility films could be used as bottom electrodes in optoelectronic devices.