Vacuum annealed Ga:ZnO (GZO) thin films for solar cell integrated transparent antenna application

Over the last decade, optically transparent antennas have been the focus of study for applications ranging from satellite networking to window embedded telecommunications. In this letter, the feasibility of DC-sputtered GZO thin films as an active material for transparent antenna application is briefly investigated. We commence by showing that the optoelectronic properties, namely the optical band gap and electrical conductivity, can be significantly enhanced by vacuum annealing at 550 °C. The improvement in electrical conductivity translates to higher return loss and gains for microstrip patch transparent antenna, meanwhile, the increase in band gap results in higher optical transparency, which in return boosts the power conversion efficiency of the underlying solar cell device. This study serves as a groundwork for scalable fabrication route for GZO thin films for solar cell integrated transparent antenna application.