Influence of Morphology on the Thermoelectric Performance of Aluminum-Doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) on Diverse Substrate Material

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films for thermoelectric solar energy conversion are investigated in this work. It examines how different substrates and sputtering powers affect the morphology and thermoelectric characteristics of AZO thin films. Polyimide, quartz, and fused silica were selected as substrates to explore this interaction. Utilizing radiofrequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, AZO thin films were deposited onto the substrates. The impact of the sputtering power on the films was examined by varying it between 200 W, 250 W, and 300 W. The distance between the target and substrate was kept at 5 cm, the argon gas flow rate was kept at 10 sccm, and the sputtering period was fixed at one hour. All other deposition parameters were kept constant. The SEM study showed that thicker AZO thin films and a rougher surface texture were the outcomes of increasing the sputtering power. On the other hand, the EDS analysis confirmed that all predicted components were consistently present in the AZO composition for every substrate that was examined. In addition, the Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermoelectric power factor (PF) were measured using a specially desig