Transparent, conductive ZnO:Al thin film deposited on polymer substrates by RF magnetron sputtering

In this paper, we present the optical, electrical, structural and mechanical properties exhibited by aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) thin films produced by RF magnetron sputtering on polymeric substrates (polyethylene tereplithalate, PET; Mylar type D from Dupont(R)) with a standard thickness of 100 mum. The influence of the uniaxial tensile strain on the electrical resistance of these films was evaluated in situ for the first time during tensile elongation. In addition, the role of the thickness on the mechanical behavior of the films was also evaluated. The preliminary results reveal that the increase in electrical resistance is related to the number of cracks, as well as the crack width, which also depends on the film thickness. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.