Growth of ZnO:Al thin films onto different substrates

In this paper we present some results regarding undoped and doped ZnO thin films deposited on various substrates like glass, silicon and kapton by rf magnetron sputtering. The influence of the amount of aluminum as well as the usage of different substrates on the final photovoltaic properties of the thin films is studied. For this, structural‐morphological and optical investigations on the thin films are conducted. It was found that three important factors must be taken into account for adjusting the final desired application intended for the deposited thin films. These factors are: deposition conditions, the nature of both the dopant material and the substrate. A comparison study between undoped and doped case is also realized. Smooth Al doped ZnO thin films with a polycrystalline structure and a lower roughness than undoped ZnO are obtained.