Effect of aluminium doping on zinc oxide thin films grown by spray pyrolysis

We report the structural, optical, and electrical characterization of aluminium-doped zinc oxide thin films grown by the spray pyrolysis method. We report the effect of Al concentration on the resistivity and on the X-ray diffraction, transmittance. photoluminescence and Raman scattering spectra of the films. The minimum resistivity is obtained for the sample with nominal Al concentration of 1%. An increase of the Al doping decreases the quality of the films. The loss of short-range order affects the photoluminescence and resistivity, although the optical transmittance is good, and the decrease of the long-range order affects X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.