Tuning the crystallographic, morphological, optical and electrical properties of ZnO:Al grown by spray pyrolysis

In this contribution the effect of different deposition conditions on the physical properties of ZnO:Al grown by spray pyrolysis is outlined. In particular, it will be shown that the solvent composition affects the crystallographic orientation of the deposited films, as well as their roughness and electrical properties. Using water leads to higher resistive films than methanol. The choice of precursor salts also has an effect on the electrical properties, as using organic precursors leads to lower resistivity films. In both cases post-annealing helps to reduce the overall resistivity of the films. The reduction in resistivity will change depending on the initial deposition condition of the films, with lower values observed for films deposited at lower temperature. In optimum conditions a resistivity of 7 x 10(-3) Omega cm can be reproducibly achieved with inexpensive air blast nozzles at atmospheric pressure. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.