Hypothesis on the Influence of the Magnetic Behaviour of Hydrogen Doped Zinc Oxide during Its Plasma Sputtering Process

Abstract

We investigate the complexity of the reactive sputtering of highly conductive zinc oxide thin films in the presence of hydrogen at room temperature. We report on the importance of precise geometric positioning of the substrate with respect to the magnetron to achieve maximum conductivity. We examine the electrical properties of the deposited thins films based on their position on the substrate holder relative to the magnetron. By considering early reports by other researchers on the angular dependency of plasma parameters and the effect of hydrogen doping on electric and magnetic properties of hydrogen-doped zinc oxide, we propose a hypothesis on the possibility of such properties resulting in the observations presented in this report pending further tests to verify this hypothesis. Overall, in this report we present the guide by which highly conductive zinc oxide thin film coatings can be prepared via RF sputtering with hydrogen presence along with argon as the sputtering gas.