Preparation and Characterization of ZnO:Al Thin Films Using Aqueous Solution Method

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_5How to use a DOI?

Keywords

AZO; ITO; Sol-gel; Nanoparticle

Abstract

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films are widely used in modern optical and optoelectronic technologies, including solar cells, sensor displays, and light-emitting diodes. Among the various TCO materials, indium tin oxide (ITO) is the most commonly used. However, due to the increasing scarcity of indium metal in recent years, its high extraction cost, extensive water usage and pollution during mining, and toxic effects on human health, aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) has been investigated as a potential alternative. By preparing AZO thin films in an aqueous environment under laboratory conditions, it becomes possible to produce low-cost and safer TCOs on an industrial scale while minimizing environmental pollution.

In this study, a total of four AZO thin films were fabricated using two methods: sol-gel and nanoparticle-based synthesis. Two of these films were thermally annealed at 500 ℃ for 2 h. The optical properties of the films were analyzed using UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), and surface morphology changes due to annealing were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM).

The AZO thin films prepared by both methods exhibited absorption in the ultraviolet (UV) region and transmittance of 70–80% in the visible region, with optical band gap energies ranging from 3.22 to 3.24 eV. In terms of surface morphology, the unannealed AZO films were relatively rough and non-uniform, whereas after annealing, the surface became smoother and more homogeneous. These results indicate that AZO thin films can be successfully fabricated using aqueous-based synthesis methods.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Maral Bolor-Erdene
AU  - Oyunjargal Tumurbaatar
AU  - Ganzorig Chimed
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/25
TI  - Preparation and Characterization of ZnO:Al Thin Films Using Aqueous Solution Method
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Resources and Technology (RESAT 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 52
EP  - 63
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_5
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_5
ID  - Bolor-Erdene2025
ER  -