Hydrogen plasma treatment for improved conductivity in amorphous aluminum doped zinc tin oxide thin films
M. Morales-Masis,
L. Ding,
F. Dauzou,
Q. Jeangros,
A. Hessler-Wyser,
S. Nicolay,
C. Ballif
Affiliations
M. Morales-Masis
Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, CH-2002 Neuchatel, Switzerland
L. Ding
Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, CH-2002 Neuchatel, Switzerland
F. Dauzou
Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, CH-2002 Neuchatel, Switzerland
Q. Jeangros
Interdisciplinary Centre for Electron Microscopy, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
A. Hessler-Wyser
Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, CH-2002 Neuchatel, Switzerland
S. Nicolay
Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM) SA, Rue Jaquet-Droz 1, CH-2002 Neuchatel, Switzerland
C. Ballif
Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PVLab), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Rue de la Maladière 71b, CH-2002 Neuchatel, Switzerland
Improving the conductivity of earth-abundant transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) remains an important challenge that will facilitate the replacement of indium-based TCOs. Here, we show that a hydrogen (H2)-plasma post-deposition treatment improves the conductivity of amorphous aluminum-doped zinc tin oxide while retaining its low optical absorption. We found that the H2-plasma treatment performed at a substrate temperature of 50 °C reduces the resistivity of the films by 57% and increases the absorptance by only 2%. Additionally, the low substrate temperature delays the known formation of tin particles with the plasma and it allows the application of the process to temperature-sensitive substrates.
