1. Characterization of Pure and Al Doped ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Sol Gel Method for Solar Cell Applications.
- Author
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Bouacheria, M. A., Djelloul, A., Adnane, M., Larbah, Y., and Benharrat, L.
- Subjects
ZINC oxide films ,THIN films ,SOLAR cells ,ATOMIC force microscopy ,BAND gaps ,SCANNING electron microscopy - Abstract
Pure and Al-doped Zin Oxide ZnO (AZO) thin films with different aluminum (Al) concentrations (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 at.%) were prepared on glass substrates by a dip-coating technique using different Zn and Al precursors. The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of these films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), Atomic force electron microscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and four-point probe technique. XRD results showed that the obtained AZO thin films were polycrystalline with a highly c-axis preferred (002) orientation, and the average crystallites size decreased from 29 to 25 nm with the increase in Al doping concentration. EDS microanalysis confirmed the presence of Zn, O and Al elements in the prepared films as expected. The optical study demonstrated that the ZnO thin film had a good transparency in the visible range with a maximum transmittance of 90% and the band gaps varied from 3.16 to 3.26 eV by Al doping. SEM micrographs showed a wrinkles-like morphology of the thin films that changed in density with the increase of Al concentrations. The PL emission spectra indicated that except the thin film doped with 1 at.%, other films exhibited high emission intensities under an excitation of 325 nm which allows to apply them as downconversion layers for solar cell applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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