Influence of O2/Ar ratio on the structural, electrical, and optical properties of transparent conductive zirconium-doped ZnO films prepared by radiofrequency sputtering

Zirconium-doped ZnO (ZZO) transparent conductive films are deposited on glass substrates by radiofrequency sputtering at 300 °C. The influence of O 2 /Ar ratio on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ZZO films is investigated by X-ray diffraction, Hall measurement, and optical transmission spectroscopy. The results show that ZZO thin films are polycrystalline with a preferred (0 0 2) orientation. The lowest resistivity of 3.7 × 10 −4  Ω cm is obtained at the O 2 /Ar ratio of 1/12. The average optical transmittance of the films is over 90%, and the transmittance has no evident change with increasing O 2 /Ar ratio.