Highly moisture and weak-acid resistant Ga-doped ZnO films with titanium dioxide co-doping fabricated by magnetron sputtering

Publication date: 31 July 2017
Source:Thin Solid Films, Volume 634
Author(s): Chaoting Zhu, Jia Li, Ye Yang, Xunna Zhao, Wenwei Zou, Ruiqin Tan, Weijie Song
In this work, we proposed a strategy to improve the damp-heat stability and weak-acid resistance of gallium doped zinc oxide (GZO) thin films by co-doping TiO2 into GZO targets. Results showed that GZO thin films with a 0.2wt% TiO2 co-doping in the target (GTZO) exhibited a resistivity of 5.1×10⁻⁴ Ω·cm and an average transmittance of 82.9%. The relative change in sheet resistance was as low as 5.1% after 24h damp heat treatment in conditions of 97% relative humidity at 121°C. A craterlike textured surface with a high haze value was not found in GTZO thin films after dipping in 1vol% HCl solution for 10min. These results showed that GTZO thin films have great potential for use as transparent electrode in extreme outdoor conditions.