The properties of radio frequency sputtered transparent and conducting ZnO:F films on polyethylene naphthalate substrate

We report on the properties of ZnO:F films deposited by RF sputtering on polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrates and compared them with films deposited on glass. Detailed and systematic investigations of various properties of films were deposited on PEN substrates were carried out as functions of thickness and annealing ambient. The films were deposited at room temperature and annealed at 150 °C in either Ar or 7% H₂/Ar ambients. These films exhibited carrier concentrations between 2 × 10¹⁸/cm³ and 9.5 × 10¹⁹/cm³, mobility between 3 and 11 cm ²/V-s, and resistivity between 10^{- 1} and 10^{- 2} Ω-cm. Hall mobility variation with concentration has been explained assuming ionized impurity and lattice scattering to be the dominant mechanisms. The transmission of the films varied from 68 to 80% with increasing thickness and the absorption edge was limited by the absorption of the PEN substrate. The mechanical flexibility of the films was measured in terms of its critical radius of bending which was determined from the onset of a sharp increase in electrical resistance. The critical radius varied between 6.5 and 17 mm for film thicknesses varying from 20 to 200 nm. The thickness dependence of critical strain and critical radius can be explained by Griffith defect theory.