Preparation of transparent and conductive ZnO thin films by applying a solution of zinc alkoxide

Transparent thin films of ZnO and Al-doped ZnO have been prepared on a glass substrate by a spin-coating method using a solution of zinc di-n-butoxide-2,2'-iminodiethanol-ethanol. Heating temperature of 500 degrees C was adopted to convert a precursor of ZnO into ZnO(hexagonal wurtzite structure) polycrystalline films. The films had a high transparency in the visible region and resistivities of similar to 10(1) and similar to 10(0) Omega . cm for undoped and Al-doped ZnO films, respectively. Annealing in hydrogen atmosphere reduced the resistivity of the films to similar to 10(-2) and similar to 10(-3) Omega . cm for undoped and Al-doped ZnO films, respectively, without affecting the optical transmission.