ZnO: Ga thin films produced by RF sputtering at room temperature: Effect of the power density

Ga-doped polycrystalline zinc oxide (GZO) thin films have been deposited at high growth rates by rf magnetron sputtering. The dependence of electrical, optical and morphological properties on the rf power density were investigated. The lowest resistivity of 1.9×10^-4 Ωcm was obtained for a rf power density of 9 W/cm² and an argon sputtering pressure of 0.15 Pa at room temperature. The films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and a strong crystallographic c-axis orientation (002) perpendicular to the substrate surface. The films present an overall transmittance in the visible spectra of about 85%. The low resistivity, accomplished with a high growth rate deposited at room temperature, enables the deposition of these films onto polymeric substrates for flexible optoelectronic devices and displays.