{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,5]],"date-time":"2026-11-05T17:06:41Z","timestamp":1793898401015,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,14]],"date-time":"2025-11-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763078400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization, CCCDI-UEFISCDI","award":["PN-IV-P7-7.1-PED-2024-2303"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PN-IV-P7-7.1-PED-2024-2303"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nanomaterials"],"abstract":"<jats:p>High-quality AZO thin films were produced on a 4-inch Si substrate using large-area PLD equipment at a substrate temperature of 330 \u00b0C, with a ZnO: Al (98:2 wt.%) target. This study aims to enhance the electrical, optical, morphological and structural properties of large-area PLD-grown AZO thin films by tuning the deposition pressures. The samples were prepared under high-vacuum (HV) conditions, as well as in oxygen atmospheres of 0.005 mbar O2, 0.01 mbar O2, and 0.1 mbar O2. Consequently, a bilayer AZO film was prepared in a combination of two deposition pressures (first layer prepared under HV, followed by the second layer prepared at 0.01 mbar O2). Additionally, morphological and structural characterization revealed that high-quality columnar growth AZO thin films free of droplets, with a strong (002) orientation, were achieved on a 4-inch Si substrate. Moreover, Hall measurements in the Van der Pauw configuration were used to assess the electrical properties. A low electrical resistivity of 3.98 \u00d7 10\u22124 \u2126 cm, combined with a high carrier concentration (n) of 1.05 \u00d7 1021 cm\u22123 and a charge carrier mobility of 17.9 cm2\/V s, was achieved at room temperature for the sample prepared under HV conditions. The optical characterization conducted through spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements showed that the large-area AZO sample exhibits an increased optical transparency in the visible (VIS) range with a near-zero extinction coefficient (k) and a wide bandgap of 3.75 eV, fulfilling the standards for materials classified as TCO. In addition, the increased thickness uniformity of the prepared AZO films over a large area represents a significant step in scaling the PLD technique for industrial applications.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nano15221722","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,14]],"date-time":"2025-11-14T14:37:52Z","timestamp":1763131072000},"page":"1722","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Large-Area Pulsed Laser Deposition Growth of Transparent Conductive Al-Doped ZnO Thin Films"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4474-9449","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena Isabela","family":"Bancu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR), Atomistilor Street 409, 077125 Magurele, Romania"},{"name":"Faculty of Physics, R&D Center for Materials and Electronic & Optoelectronic Devices (MDEO), University of Bucharest, Atomistilor Street 405, 077125 Magurele, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4501-8365","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valentin","family":"Ion","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR), Atomistilor Street 409, 077125 Magurele, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8877-9789","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mihai Adrian","family":"Sopronyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR), Atomistilor Street 409, 077125 Magurele, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5082-0996","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Stefan","family":"Antohe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Physics, R&D Center for Materials and Electronic & Optoelectronic Devices (MDEO), University of Bucharest, Atomistilor Street 405, 077125 Magurele, Romania"},{"name":"Academy of Romanian Scientists (AOSR), Ilfov Street 3, 050045 Bucharest, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2222-7268","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nicu Doinel","family":"Scarisoreanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics (INFLPR), Atomistilor Street 409, 077125 Magurele, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mee.2014.04.026","article-title":"AZO layers deposited by PLD method as flexible transparent emitter electrodes for solar cells","volume":"127","author":"Znajdek","year":"2014","journal-title":"Microelectron. 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