Effect of deposition temperature on the properties of Al-doped ZnO films prepared by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering for transparent electrodes in thin-film solar cells

► Surface-textured AZO films were achieved by combining PDMS method with wet etching. ► The AZO film deposited at 230°C by PDMS exhibited the best performance. ► It is due to the higher plasma density supplied from PDMS system. ► Wet etching of the films produces a crater-like rough surface morphology. A simple but scalable approach to the production of surface-textured Al-doped ZnO(AZO) films for low-cost transparent electrode applications in thin-film solar cells is introduced in this study by combining pulsed dc magnetron sputtering (PDMS) with wet etching in sequence. First, structural, electrical, and optical properties of the AZO films prepared by a PDMS were investigated as functions of deposition temperature to obtain transparent electrode films that can be used as indium-free alternative to ITO electrodes. Increase in the deposition temperature to 230°C accompanied the improvement in crystalline quality and doping efficiency, which enabled the lowest electrical resistivity of 4.16×10−4Ωcm with the carrier concentration of 1.65×1021cm−3 and Hall mobility of 11.3cm2/Vs. The wet etching of the films in a diluted HCl solution resulted in surface roughening via the formation of crater-like structures without significant degradation in the electrical properties, which is responsible for the enhanced light scattering capability required for anti-reflective electrodes in thin film solar cells.