Effective conductivity of chemically deposited ZnO thin films

Abstract

Chemically deposited thin films have multiple applications. However, as a result of their complex structure, their physical properties are very difficult to predict. In this paper, we use an effective medium approach to model these heterogeneous systems. We extend Thorpe's formula for the effective electrical conductivity of elliptical holes randomly distributed in a matrix to a system composed of conducting ellipses in a conducting matrix. This extension is used to calculate the effective electrical conductivity of polycrystalline chemically deposited ZnO thin films. We compare experimental results obtained by two different deposition methods: spray pyrolysis and successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) reported here. We select the elliptical geometric parameters from microstructural data. Good agreement between the experimental measurements and our calculation is obtained. In addition, we present a new proof of the reciprocity theorem used to derive the theoretical relation.