Highly conductive/transparent ZnO:Al thin films deposited at room temperature by rf magnetron sputtering

Transparent conducting ZnO:Al thin films have been deposited on polyester (Mylar type D, 100 mum thickness) substrates at room temperature by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The structural, optical and electrical properties of the deposited films have been studied. The samples are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and a strong crystallographic c-axis orientation (002) perpendicular to the substrate surface. As deposited ZnO:Al thin films have an 85% transmittance in the visible and infra-red region and a resistivity as low as 13.6x10(-2) Omegacm. The obtained results are comparable to those ones obtained on glass. substrates, opening a new field for low cost, light weight, small volume, flexible and unbreakable large area optoelectronic devices.