Structural and electrical properties of Al doped ZnO thin films deposited at room temperature on poly(vinilidene fluoride) substrates

Abstract

Transparent, conducting, Al-doped ZnO films have been deposited, by dc and pulsed dc magnetron sputtering, on glass and electroactive polymer (poly(vinylidene fluoride)-PVDF) substrates. Samples have been prepared at room temperature varying the argon sputtering pressure, after optimizing other processing conditions. All ZnO:Al films are polycrystalline and preferentially oriented along the [002] axis. Electrical resistivity around 3.3 x 10(-3) Omega cm and optical transmittance of similar to 85% at 550 nm have been obtained for AZOY films deposited on glass, while a resistivity of 1.7 x 10(-2) Omega cm and transmittance of similar to 70% at 550 nm have been attained in similar coatings on PVDF. One of the main parameters affecting film resistivity seems to be the roughness of the substrate.