Stability against hydrogen plasma exposure of Al-doped zinc oxide thin film for a-Si thin film solar cell

In this study, the stability of Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films under hydrogen (H2) plasma exposure was investigated. The plasma power was varied from 60 to 300 W, and the exposure time was also varied from 10 to 60 min to investigate the stability of the films against H2 plasma. Surface morphologies of the AZO films did not change much after H2 plasma exposure. The average optical transmittance was 87.4% at a plasma power of 60 W and decreased to 70.9% when the plasma power was 300 W. The electrical properties, including mobility and resistivity, were improved by plasma treatment. The characteristics of AZO films after H2 plasma exposure showed negligible differences in morphology and improved optical and electrical properties, which implies that the prepared AZO films have a strong resistance to H2 plasma exposure up to an RF power of 60 W for 20 minutes. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)