Electrical and optical properties of nanostructured zinc oxide thin films via sol-gel coating

ZnO thin films were fabricated on glass substrate by sol-gel method. A stable and homogeneous solution was prepared by dissolving zinc acetate dehydrate as a starting material in a solution of 2-methoxyethanol and monoethanolamine (MEA). The precursor concentration was selected as the parameter to optimize the thin films quality. The molar ratio of zinc acetate dehydrate was kept at 1. The thin films were preheated at 300°C for 10 minutes after each coating. After depositing all layers, the thin films are annealed for 1 hour in order to obtain transparent ZnO thin films. It was found that the precursor concentration affect the IV characteristic, transmittance, and the thickness of the resultant ZnO thin films.