Highly transparent and conductive Zn0.85Mg0.15O:Al thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Zn1−xMgxO:Al thin films have been prepared on glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The effect of substrate temperature has been investigated from room temperature to 500 °C by analyzing the structural, optical and electrical properties. The best sample deposited at 250 °C shows the lowest room-temperature resistivity of 5.16×10−4 Ω cm, and optical transmittance higher than 80% in the visible region. It is observed that the optical band gap decreases from 3.92 to 3.68 eV when the substrate temperature increases from 100 to 500 °C. The probable mechanism is discussed.