Abstract
We studied the growth mechanism of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films using seed layers for enhancing the performance of transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) in the thin film solar cells. We carried out two-step processes for the deposition of AZO films. Seed layers were deposited on glass substrate as a function of Ar/O2 gas flow ratio. We show the results of our investigation on the micro-structural properties of AZO seed layers using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The elemental composition and electronic structure changes with the deposition conditions were examined using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and reflective electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS). The optical and electrical characteristics of AZO film using the seed layer with Ar/O2 = 9/1 show a high haze value of 88% at 500 nm and a resistivity value of 3.7 × 10-4 Ωcm.
