Effect of Source-Substrate Distance on Transparent Electrode Properties of the Spray-Cast Aluminium Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films

Abstract The wide band gap zinc oxide is a potential metal oxide that has been widely used in optoelectronic applications. The zinc oxide thin films demonstrates excellent conductivity and transparency enabling them for transparent electrode applications. The aluminium doping is an efficient route in further improving the conductivity without compromising the transparency and scalable spray pyrolysis is an effective approach in realizing high quality thin films. Our current study focuses on the effects of distance between the substrate and spray nozzle on the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of aluminium doped zinc oxide. Our results suggests that this spray parameter has appreciable impact on the thin film properties and can be optimized for tuning properties. We explain this in detail backed by the characterization of thin films by X-ray diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy, UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, Photoluminescence and Hall effect measurements.