Transparent conducting AZO and ITO films produced by pulsed laser ablationat 355 nm

Thin films of aluminium-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and indium tin oxide (ITO) w ere deposited on glass substrates by laser ablation in an oxygen environmen t. The electrical and optical properties of films grown at various oxygen p ressures were compared. With no substrate heating, highly transparent and c onducting films were obtained with oxygen pressures between 15 and 23 mTorr for both materials. We obtained a specific resistivity of 1.8 x 10(-3) Ome ga cm for AZO and 1.1 x 10(-3) Omega cm for ITO. By heating the substrate t o 160 degrees C or 200 degrees C, the resistivity was further reduced to 1. 1 x 10(-3) Omega cm for AZO and 3.9 x 10(-4) Omega cm for ITO. The average transmission of visible light (450-750 MI) was between 82% and 98% in most cases. The results suggest that AZO is a promising alternative to ITO.