Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a TCO material with interesting physical properties, which places it among the most promising materials for the use in various fields such as piezoelectricity, photovoltaic effect, optoelectronics...

In this work of experimental nature, the aim is to study the effect of doping on the structural, electrical and optical properties of thin films. To accomplish this, we have deposited Al-doped ZnO thin films by spray pyrolysis technique from an aqueous solution of zinc chloride doped from hydrated aluminum chloride. Transparent conductive thin films of zinc oxide were deposited on ordinary glass substrate preheated at the temperature of 350°C. The effect of doping percentage (1%, 3% and 5%) has been investigated.

X-ray diffraction showed that all films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure, and revealed the effect of doping on grain size. Spectrophotometric measurements showed that the ZnO: Al is transparent (60%-70%) in the visible zone.                                                                                                               Hall effect measurements showed p-type electrical conductivity.

KEYWORDS: TCO, Thin films, Spray Pyrolysis, Doped ZnO, XRD, Spectrophotometry, Profilometry, Hall Effect.

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