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<p>This study investigates the influence of film thickness on the physical and electrical properties of Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films deposited using&#xa0;thermal atomic layer deposition at 150&#xa0;°C using a super-cycle approach. The film thickness was controlled by varying the number of super-cycles (S<sub>N</sub>), and its influence on AZO/p-Si heterojunction device performance was evaluated. GIXRD analysis confirmed a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferred (100) orientation in all AZO films. SEM and AFM studies showed&#xa0;increased grain size and surface roughness with higher S<sub>N</sub>. Optical measurements showed an average transmittance &gt; 85% in the visible to NIR region for all samples. XPS analysis confirmed a nearly constant Al/Zn atomic ratio across different film thicknesses, indicating uniform doping. Hall effect measurements demonstrated a decrease in electrical resistivity with increasing S<sub>N</sub>, reaching a minimum of 0.017&#xa0;Ω-cm with a carrier concentration of 1.24 × 10<sup>20</sup>&#xa0;cm<sup>−3</sup> for the&#xa0;thicker film (42 S<sub>N</sub>). The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of n-AZO/p-Si heterojunctions exhibited a transition from rectifying to near-Ohmic behaviour with the increase of AZO thickness, suggesting an improved charge carrier injection and reduced interface resistance. This corresponds with an increase in the AZO work function from 4.68&#xa0;eV to 4.81&#xa0;eV as the S<sub>N</sub> increases, which reduces the energy barrier for carrier injection at AZO/p-Si interface. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis showed a decrease in charge transfer resistance and improved conductivity with increasing S<sub>N</sub>. These results highlight the critical role of thickness optimization in tuning the performance of&#xa0;the AZO films for use as transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers in optoelectronic applications such as solar cells, photodiodes and OLEDs.</p>

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Tunable physical and electrical characteristics of AZO/p-Si heterostructures developed using super-cycle approach of ALD

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月21日

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  • Meenakshi,
  • Abhishek Kumar,
  • Rinki,
  • Mrinal Dutta,
  • Sanjay K. Srivastava,
  • Geetanjali Sehgal,
  • Sandeep Singh,
  • Govind Gupta,
  • Thomas Fix,
  • Prathap Pathi

摘要

This study investigates the influence of film thickness on the physical and electrical properties of Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films deposited using thermal atomic layer deposition at 150 °C using a super-cycle approach. The film thickness was controlled by varying the number of super-cycles (SN), and its influence on AZO/p-Si heterojunction device performance was evaluated. GIXRD analysis confirmed a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferred (100) orientation in all AZO films. SEM and AFM studies showed increased grain size and surface roughness with higher SN. Optical measurements showed an average transmittance > 85% in the visible to NIR region for all samples. XPS analysis confirmed a nearly constant Al/Zn atomic ratio across different film thicknesses, indicating uniform doping. Hall effect measurements demonstrated a decrease in electrical resistivity with increasing SN, reaching a minimum of 0.017 Ω-cm with a carrier concentration of 1.24 × 1020 cm−3 for the thicker film (42 SN). The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of n-AZO/p-Si heterojunctions exhibited a transition from rectifying to near-Ohmic behaviour with the increase of AZO thickness, suggesting an improved charge carrier injection and reduced interface resistance. This corresponds with an increase in the AZO work function from 4.68 eV to 4.81 eV as the SN increases, which reduces the energy barrier for carrier injection at AZO/p-Si interface. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis showed a decrease in charge transfer resistance and improved conductivity with increasing SN. These results highlight the critical role of thickness optimization in tuning the performance of the AZO films for use as transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers in optoelectronic applications such as solar cells, photodiodes and OLEDs.