Comparative study of Al-doped ZnO films deposited by sol-gel and by sputtering using a sintered target from ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel

Al-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) films were deposited on glass substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering using a sintered target of nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel. The films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, the four-point probe method for resistivity, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed a hexagonal structure corresponding to the wurtzite phase for all the films, nanoparticles, and sintered targets. The films deposited by sputtering showed a highly preferred orientation to the (002) plane. These films were compared structurally and electrically to those deposited by the sol-gel method. Photoluminescence spectra show a decrease in intensity due to the reduction of defects by the incorporation of Al as dopant in the ZnO films deposited by the both methods (sol-gel and sputtering). The Al-doped ZnO films deposited by sputtering reached resistivity of 0.1 Q cm and those deposited by sol-gel reached a resistivity of 1.24 Q cm. The physical properties of these films show potential for application in devices like sensors and biosensors.(c) 2021 SECV. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).