Tailoring the structural, morphological, electrical and optical characteristics of transparent and conductive ZnO/Ag-NPs thin film coatings

Abstract

Abstract In this study, high quality ZnO/Ag-NPs thin transparent and conductive film coatings were fabricated via sol-gel process combined with spin-coating technique. Structural, surface morphology, electrical and optical properties were investigated by means of XRD, Hall effect measurements, FESEM and UV-Vis. The synthesized ZnO/Ag-NPs thin films shows a polycrystalline wurtzite structure, and the grain sizes enlarged when the annealing temperature increased. The surface morphologies of the coatings were dense, smooth and homogeneous as proved by FESEM images. The resistivity of (5.8×10−4 Ω.cm), the carrier concentration of (3×1020 cm−3) and the mobility of (40 cm2/V s) were obtained from the film post heated with 500°C. Same thin film also shows the highest transmittance and energy gap of 88% and 3.71 eV respectively.