Study of the Properties of Transparent Conducting Zinc Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Dip Coating Method
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Abstract
This research aims to study the structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO thin films prepared by the sol-gel process and dip-coating method under varying coating layer conditions of 1, 3 and 5 layers. The objective was to improve the properties of the ZnO thin films in order to get the proper performance according to the purpose of use and applications in optical electronics and translucent conductors. The analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the surface morphology of the ZnO films became more uniform in particle distribution with an increasing number of coating layers. The analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FT-Raman spectroscopy showed that the dominant crystal structure matches the hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. The optical properties were studied by using UV-Vis spectroscopy, where the films had a light transmittance ranging from 85% to 95%. The transmittance decreased as the number of coating layers increased. The bandgap was found to range from 3.27 eV to 3.29 eV. The sheet electrical resistance analysis using the four-point probe method showed that the films had sheet resistance values ranging from 1.44 x 107 W/sq to 2.44 x 107 W/sq, with sheet resistance decreasing as the number of coating layers increased. The results of this study indicated that the number of coating layers in the dip-coating process affected various properties of the thin film. This understanding can be applied to further develop and enhance the properties of ZnO thin films for optoelectronic applications and their use as transparent electrodes.
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