Effect of working pressure on the structural, optical and electrical properties of titanium-gallium co-doped zinc oxide thin films

The transparent conducting titanium-gallium co-doped zinc oxide (TGZO) thin films were grown on glass substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique. The effects of working pressure on the structural, optical and electrical properties of the films were investigated. The results show that the deposited films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and highly textured along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate. The TGZO film prepared at the working pressure of 0.4 Pa exhibits the best crystallinity, the maximal grain size, the highest transmittance, the lowest resistivity and the highest figure of merit. The optical constants of the films were calculated using the method of optical spectrum fitting. The dispersion behavior of the films was studied by the single-electronic oscillator dispersion model. The oscillator parameters and optical bandgaps were determined. The results demonstrate that the microstructure and optoelectrical properties of the TGZO films are dependent on the working pressure.