F, Mg and Ga co-doped ZnO transparent conductive thin films by dual-target magnetron sputtering: Fabrication, structure, and characteristics

F, Mg and Ga co-doped ZnO (FMGZO) films are deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by magnetron sputtering using MgF2 and ZnO:Ga targets. The effects of RF sputtering power applied to the MgF2 target on structure, morphology, composition, electrical and optical properties of the films are investigated in detail. The experimental results show that all samples are polycrystalline films with hexagonal wurtzite structure and low surface roughness. The FMGZO film deposited at RF sputtering power of 15 W exhibits the highest figure of merit of 5.66 × 10−2 Ω−1 with the resistivity of 6.5 × 10−4 Ω cm, the carrier concentration of 4.12 × 1020 cm−3 and the Hall mobility of 23.38 cm2/V s, while the average optical transmittance is as high as 95.23% in the visible range. The photoelectric performance of the FMGZO film is significantly higher than that of previously reported co-doped ZnO films, which makes it suitable for various high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. [Display omitted] •F, Mg and Ga co-doped ZnO (FMGZO) films are deposited by magnetron sputtering.•Effects of sputtering power on properties of FMGZO films are investigated.•The FMGZO films have a typical hexagonal wurtzite structure and low roughness.•The optimal FMGZO film exhibits a low resistivity of 6.5 × 10−4 Ω cm.•The average visible transmittance of the best film exceeds 95%.