Effect of metal (Al, Ga, and In)-dopants and/or Ag-nanoparticles on the optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films

ZnO thin films were deposited by a sol-gel process using zinc acetate dihydrate and 2-methoxyethanol as starting precursor and solvent, respectively. Ag-nanoparticles were prepared with uniform size (4.4 nm) by the spontaneous reduction method of Ag 2-ethylhexanoate in Dimethyl sulfoxide. The optical and electrical characteristics of ZnO films with the introduction of 3A metal (Al, Ga, and In)-dopants and/or Ag-nanoparticles were evaluated. The optical and electrical properties of metal-doped ZnO films were improved and light scatter, charge emission and the scattering behavior of Ag-nanoparticles incorporated into the ZnO thin film were measured. The introduction of Ag-nanoparticles into metal-doped ZnO films induced a slight decrease in the optical transmittance but an increase in the electrical sheet resistance.