Al doped zinc oxide (AZO) films were
prepared by mid-frequency magnetron sputtering for
silicon (Si) thin film solar cells. Then, the influence of
deposition parameters on the electrical and optical proper-
ties of the films was studied. Results showed that high
conductive and high transparent AZO thin films were
achieved with a minimum resistivity of 2.45  10 –4 Ω∙cm
and optical transmission greater than 85% in visible
spectrum region as the films were deposited at a substrate
temperature of 225°C and a low sputtering power of 160
W. The optimized films were applied as back reflectors in
a-SiGe:H solar cells. A relative increase of 19% in the solar
cell efficiency was achieved in comparison to the cell
without the ZnO films doped with Al (ZnO:Al).

• High conductive and transparent Al doped ZnO films for a-SiGe:H thin film solar cells