Superlattices and Microstructures 39 (2006) 185–192 www.elsevier.com/locate/superlattices Effect of aluminium doping on zinc oxide thin films grown by spray pyrolysis A. El Manouni a,b , F.J. Manjón b , M. Mollar b , B. Marí b,∗ , R. Gómez c , M.C. López d , J.R. Ramos-Barrado d a Departament de Physique, Université Hassan II-Faculté de Sciences et Technologie. Mohammedia, Boulevard Yasmina, BP-145, 20650, Morocco b Departament de Física Aplicada, Universitat Politècnica de València, Camí de Vera s/n, E-46022 València, Spain c Departament de Química Física i Institut Universitari d’Electroquímica, Universitat d’Alacant, Apartat 99, E-03080 Alacant, Spain d Departament de Física Aplicada, Universidad de Málaga, Avenida de Cervantes, 2, E-29071 Málaga, Spain Available online 19 September 2005 Abstract We report the structural, optical, and electrical characterization of aluminium-doped zinc oxide thin films grown by the spray pyrolysis method. We report the effect of Al concentration on the resistivity and on the X-ray diffraction, transmittance, photoluminescence and Raman scattering spectra of the films. The minimum resistivity is obtained for the sample with nominal Al concentration of 1%. An increase of the Al doping decreases the quality of the films. The loss of short-range order affects the photoluminescence and resistivity, although the optical transmittance is good, and the decrease of the long-range order affects X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Wide bandgap semiconductor materials have been the centre of various studies in the last decade, owing to their physical properties and numerous applications including ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 96 387 70 00x75250; fax: +34 96 387 71 89. E-mail address: bmari@fis.upv.es (B. Marí). 0749-6036/$ - see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.spmi.2005.08.041