e investigated the effects of post-annealing in vacuum, nitrogen, and hydrogen atmospheres on the structural, electrical, and optical properties of 600 nm thick Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature. Post-annealing in hydrogen atmosphere at 400℃ for 1 hour showed the most significant improvement in electrical properties. Resistivity decreased from 9.11×10⁻³ to 1.4×10⁻³ Ω·cm, electron mobility increased from 4.11 to 18.23 cm²/V·s, and electron carrier concentration increased from 1.63×10²⁰ to 4.85×10²⁰ cm⁻³. In contrast, post-annealing in vacuum and nitrogen atmospheres resulted in degraded electrical properties due to oxygen and nitrogen chemisorption at grain boundaries. The enhancement in hydrogen-annealed films was attributed to the formation of additional oxygen vacancies and desorption of adsorbed oxygen species from grain boundaries. All films maintained excellent optical transparency of 80-90% in the visible range. The optical bandgap exhibited a blue-shift from 3.365 eV to 3.624 eV due to the Burstein-Moss effect induced by the increased electron carrier concentration. These results confirmed that hydrogen atmosphere post-annealing is the most effective method for enhancing the electrical conductivity of ZnO:Al thin films while maintaining high optical transparency.

In this study, the electrical properties of zinc oxide (ZnO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on oxide semiconductors were analyzed. As interest in next-generation transparent and flexible displays grows, ZnO, which offers high field-effect mobility and transparency, has emerged as a promising material to overcome the limitations of amorphous silicon (a-Si)-based TFTs. ZnO has a wide bandgap and optical transparency and can be deposited on various substrates at low temperatures, making it a suitable channel material for future display devices. In this study, ZnO TFTs were fabricated with an inverted staggered structure using a p⁺⁺ Si wafer coated with SiO₂ as the substrate. The ZnO channel layer was deposited by RF magnetron sputtering, and the ITO source/drain electrodes were formed using an e-beam evaporator. The electrical characteristics was evaluated using Keithley 4200A-SCS parameter analyzer. Mobility, On/Off ratio, and subthreshold swing (SS) were calculated from the measurements.

Recently, as power and electronic devices have increased in frequency and capacity, it has become a major concern to protect electronic circuits and electronic components used in these devices from abnormal voltages such as various surges and pulse noise. To respond to variously rated voltages applied to power electronic devices, the rated voltages of various varistors can be obtained by controlling the size of internal particles of the varistor or controlling the number of layers of the varistor. During bonding, the problem of unbalanced thermal runaway occurring between the electrode and the varistor interface causes degradation of the varistor and shortens its life of the varistor. In this study, to solve the problem of unbalanced heat distribution of stacked varistors to adjust the operating voltage, the contents of the ZnO-based varistor composition were 96 wt% ZnO, 1 mol% Sb₂O₃, 1 mol% Bi₂O₃, 0.5 mol% CoO, 0.5 mol% MnO, and 1 mol% TiO₂. A multi-layered ZnO varistor was modeled by bonding a single varistor with a composition in three layers according to the operating voltage. The thermal distribution of the triple-layered ZnO varistor was analyzed for the thermal runaway phenomenon that occurred during varistor operation using the finite element method according to Comsol 5.2.

Since the ZnO varistor is a semiconductor device, the internal thermal distribution during the varistor operation is recognized as an important factor in the performance and deterioration of the varistor. For an optimal varistor structure design, the thermal runaway phenomenon during the varistor operation was interpreted using the Comsol 5.2 analysis program by a finite element analysis. The maximum temperature of the center measured in the cross section of the ZnO varistor was confirmed to increase as the temperature moved from the lower electrode to the center towards the upper electrode up to 572.6 K. The electrodes are thinned so that the influence of the Schottky barrier is not great. The heat gradient balance is determined to be improved when the electrode of the hybrid form is introduced. The thickness, density, pore distribution, impurity uniformity, and particle size of the ZnO varistor are required, and it is determined that the pyrolysis gradient will be improved regardless of the electrode thickness. When these results are applied to design the ZnO varistor, the optimal structure of the ZnO varistor can be obtained.

In the case of ZnO:Al thin films, it is the best material that can replace ITO that is mainly used as a transparent electrode in electronic devices such as solar cells and flat-panel displays. In this study, ZnO:Al films were fabricated by using the RF dual magnetron sputtering method at various substrate temperatures. As the substrate temperature increased, the crystallinity of the ZnO:Al thin films was improved, and the electrical conductivity and electrical properties of the thin film improved owing to the increase in grain size. In addition, the surface roughness of the ZnO:Al thin films increased due to changes in the surface and density of the thin films. Moreover, the substrate temperature increased the density of thin films and improved their transmittance. To be applied to solar cells and other several electronic devices in the future, the hardness and adhesion properties of the thin film improve as the substrate temperature increases.

In this study, ZnO:Ga thin films were fabricated on a glass substrate using various Ar flows by an RF magnetron sputter system at room temperature. The dependencies of Ar flow on different properties were investigated. An appropriate control over the Ar flow led to the formation of a high-quality thin film. The ZnO:Ga films were formed as a hexagonal wurtzite structure with high (002) preferential orientation. The films exhibited a typical columnar microstructure and a smooth top face. The average transmittance was 85~89% within the visible area. By decreasing the Ar flow, the sheet resistance was decreased due to an increase in the grain size and a decrease in the root mean square roughness. The lowest sheet resistance of 86 Ω/□ was obtained at room temperature for the 40 sccm Ar flow.

In this study, Mg_xZn_1-xO thin films, which can be applied not only to active layers of light-emitting devices (LEDs), such as UV-LEDs, but also to solar cells, high mobility field-effect transistors, and power semiconductor devices, are fabricated using the sol-gel method. ZnO and Mg_0.3Zn_0.7O solution synthesized by the sol-gel method and the thin film were grown by spin coating on a Si (100) substrate and sapphire substrate. The solutions are synthesized by dissolving precursor materials in 2-methoxyethanol (2-ME) solvent, and then monoethanolamine (MEA) was added to the mixed solution as a sol stabilizer. Zinc acetate dihydrate is used as a ZnO precursor, while Mg nitrate hexahydrate and Mg acetate tetrahydrate are used as an MgO precursor. Then, the optical and structural characteristics of the fabricated thin films are compared. The molar concentration of the Zn precursor in the solvent is fixed at 0.3 M, and the amount of the Mg precursor is 30% of Mg²⁺/Zn²⁺. The optical characteristics are measured using an UV-vis spectrophotometer, and the transmittance of each wavelength is measured. Structural characteristics are measured using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Composition analyses are performed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The Mg_0.3Zn_0.7O thin film was well formed at the ratio of the Mg precursor added regardless of the type of Mg precursor, and the c-axis of the thin film was decreased, while the band gap was increased to 3.56 eV.

In this study, we investigated the crystal defects and grain boundary properties in a ZZCCC (ZnO-Zn₂BiVO₆-Co₃O₄-Cr₂O₃-CaCO₃) varistor, with the liquid-phase sintering aid Zn₂BiVO₆ developed by our laboratory. The ZZCCC varistor sintered at 1,200℃ exhibited excellent nonlinear current-voltage characteristics (α=63), with oxygen vacancy (V₀^·; 0.35 eV) as a main defect, and an apparent activation energy of 1.1 eV with an electrically single grain boundary. Therefore, among the various additives to improve the electrical properties of ZnO varistors, if Zn₂BiVO₆ is used as a liquid phase sintering aid, it will be ideal to use Co for the oxygen vacancy and Ca for the electrically single grain boundary. This will allow the good properties of ZnO varistors to be maintained up to high sintering temperatures.

This work presents the response characteristics of a ZnO varistor to conductive EMP. An E1 pulse, standardized to MIL-STD-188-125-1, was applied to the varistors wherein the residual current and response times were measured with the applied E1 pulse current. Additionally, the response time was measured according to the length of the connection path. Consequently, the amplitude of the residual voltage through the ZnO varistors was increased with increasing amplitude of the applied E1 pulse current. As the length of the connection path increased, the operating response time and residual peak voltage also increased. These results indicate that the response characteristics of ZnO varistors can be applied to basic data to support the use of varistors as a protective measure against conductive EMP.

In this study, photoluminescence (PL) analysis was performed to evaluate the optical properties of commercial ZnO substrates. Particular attention was paid to the bound exciton (BX) luminescence, which is usually the strongest emission intensity of commercial substrates. At 15 K, PL analysis revealed that the BX peak due to donor-type impurities (donor-bound-exciton; DX) dominated, while two-electron satellite (TES) emission, donor-accepter pair (DAP) emission, and LO-phonon replica emission were also observed. The impurity concentration of the ZnO substrate was determined to be 10¹⁵ to 10¹⁶/cm³ by examination of the temperature variation of DAP, while the half width and intensity change of the luminescence revealed that the temperature change of BX can be interpreted almost the same as the analysis of free-exciton emission.

There is a need for the development of transparent conductive materials that are economical and environmentally friendly with exhibit low resistivity and high transmittance in the visible spectrum. In this study, the deposition rate and uniformity of Al-doped ZnO-thin films were improved by changing the Z-motion of the sputtering system. The deposition rate and the uniformity were determined to be 3.44 nm/min and 1.23%, respectively, under the 10 mm Z-motion condition. During O2 plasma treatment, the intrusion-type metal elements in the thin film were reduced, which contributed to an oxygen vacancy reduction in addition to structural stabilization. Moreover, the sheet resistance was more easily saturated.

In particular, gas sensors require characteristics such as high speed, sensitivity, and selectivity. In this study, we fabricated a NO_X gas sensor by using a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)/zinc oxide (ZnO) composite film. The fabricated MWCNT/ZnO gas sensor was then treated by a 450℃ temperature process to increase its detection sensitivity for NOx gas. We compared the detection characteristics of a ZnO film gas sensor, MWCNT film gas sensor, and the MWCNT/ZnO composited film gas sensor with and without the heat-treatment process. The fabricated gas sensors were used to detect NO_X gas at different concentrations. The gas sensor absorbed NO_X gas molecules, exhibiting increased sensitivity. The sensitivity of the gas sensor was increased by increasing the gas concentration. Additionally, while changing the temperature inside the chamber for the MWCNT/ZnO composite film gas sensor, we obtained its sensitivity for detecting NO_X gas. Compared with ZnO, the MWCNT film gas sensor is excellent for detecting NO_X gas. From the experimental results, we confirmed the enhanced gas sensor sensing mechanism. The increased effect by electronic interaction between the MWCNT and ZnO films contributes to the improved sensor performance.

Epitaxial ZnO nanowires (NWs) were synthesized on sapphire (001) substrates using a hydrothermal process. The effects of the pH value of the precursor solution on the structural and optical properties of the resulting NWs was studied. The epitaxial relationship and the domain matching configuration between the sapphire (001) substrate and the as-grown ZnO NWs were determined using synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements. The (002) plane of wurtzite ZnO NW grows in the surface normal direction parallel to the sapphire (001) direction. However, three types of in-plane domain matching configurations were observed, such as the on-position, 30°-rotated position, and ±8.5°-rotated position relative to the on-position, which might be attributed to inheriting the in-plane domain configuration of the ZnO seed layer.

This study introduces a new investigation report on the microstructural and electrical property changes of ZnO-Zn₂BiVO₆-Mn₃O₄ (ZZMn), where 0.33 mol% of Mn₃O₄ and 0.5 mol% of Zn₂BiVO₆ were added to ZnO (99.17 mol%) as liquid phase sintering aids. Zn₂BiVO₆ contributes to the decrease of sintering temperatures by up to 800℃, and segregates its particles at the grain boundary, while Mn₃O₄ enhances α, the nonlinear coefficient, of varistor properties up to α＝62. In comparison, when the sintering temperature is increased from 800℃ to 1,000℃, the resistivity of ZnO grains decreases from 0.34 Ωcm to 0.16 Ωcm, and the varistor property degrades. Oxygen vacancy (V_o^·) (P1, 0.33~0.36 eV) is formed as a dominant defect. Two different kinds of grain boundary activation energies of P2 (0.51~0.70 eV) and P3 (0.70~0.93 eV) are formed according to different sintering temperatures, which are tentatively attributed to be ZnO/Zn₂BiVO₆-rich interface and ZnO/ZnO interface, respectively. Accordingly, this study introduces a progressive method of manufacturing ZnO chip varistors by way of sintering ZZMn-based varistor under 900℃. However, to procure a higher reliability, an in-depth study on the multi-component varistors with double-layer grain boundaries should be executed.

Liquid phases in ZnO varistors cause more complex phase development and microstructure, which makes the control of electrical properties and reliability more difficult. Therefore, we have investigated 2 mol% CaCO₃ doped ZnO-Co₃O₄-Cr₂O₃-La₂O₃ (ZCCLCa) bulk ceramics as one of the compositions without liquid phase sintering additive. The results were as follows: when CaCO₃ is added to ZCCLCa (644 Ωcm) acting as a simple ohmic resistor, CaO does not form a secondary phase with ZnO but is mostly distributed in the grain boundary and has excellent varistor characteristics (high nonlinear coefficient α＝78, low leakage current of 0.06 μA/㎠, and high insulation resistance of 1×10¹¹ Ωcm). The main defects Zn_i^·· (AS: 0.16 eV, IS & MS: 0.20 eV) and V˙_o (AS: 0.29 eV, IS & MS: 0.37 eV) were found, and the grain boundaries had 1.1 eV with electrically single grain boundary. The resistance of each defect and grain boundary decreases exponentially with increasing the measurement temperature. However, the capacitance (0.2 nF) of the grain boundary was ~1/10 lower than that of the two defects (~3.8 nF, ~2.2 nF) and showed a tendency to decrease as the measurement temperature increased. Therefore, ZCCLCa varistors have high sintering temperature of 1,200℃ due to lack of liquid phase additives, but excellent varistor characteristics are exhibited, which means ZCCLCa is a good candidate for realizing chip type or disc type commercial varistor products with excellent performance.

In this work, in order to effectively improve the electrical conductivity and visible light transmittance of ZnO thin films, ZnO single layer and ZnO/Ag bi-layer films were deposited on glass substrates by radio frequency and direct current magnetron sputtering, and then, the effects of an Ag buffer layer and electron beam irradiation on the electrical and optical properties of the films were investigated. The observed results indicate that ZnO 100 nm / Ag 7 nm films show higher opto-electrical performance than the ZnO single layer film. In addition, electron beam irradiation also effectively enhanced the visible transmittance and electrical conductivity of the ZnO/Ag bi-layer films.

In this study, we fabricated an NOX gas sensor using a composite film of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)/zinc oxide (ZnO). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show good electronic conductivity and chemical-stability, and zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide band gap semiconductor with a large exciton binding energy. Gas sensors require characteristics such as high speed, sensitivity, and selectivity. The fabricated gas sensor was used to detect NOX gas at different NOX concentrations. The sensitivity of the gas sensor increased with increasing gas concentrations. Additionally, while changing the temperature inside the chamber containing the MWCNT/ZnO gas sensor, we obtained the sensitivity and normalized responses for detecting NOX gas in comparison to ZnO and MWCNT film gas sensors. From the experimental results, we confirmed that the gas sensor sensing mechanism was enhanced in the composite-film gas-sensor and that the electronic interaction between MWCNT and ZnO contributed to the improved sensor performance.

Transparent conductive thin films (TCFs) are essential materials for solar cells, organic light-emitting diodes, and display panels. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is one of the most widely used commercial materials to create TCFs’; however, new materials that can possibly replace ITO at a lower cost and/or those possessing mechanical flexibility are urgently needed. Silver nanowire (AgNW) is one of those promising materials, as it is less expensive and possesses superior mechanical flexibility as compared to ITO. We used AgNW and sol-gel ZnO to fabricate composite thin films by spray coating. We propose two spray-coating methods: the ‘metal－organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)/AgNW’ method and the Mixture method. These two methods are expected to be commercialized for high-quality and low-cost products, respectively.

As a ZnO varistor is subjected to electrical and environmental stresses, it degrades gradually, which may result in power interruption by short circuit. This study investigates changes in the electrical characteristics of ZnO varistors due to deterioration owing to energy absorption, and determines the optimal parameters for on-line diagnosis of the varistor. Two types of varistors were used for an accelerated aging experiment involving the application of the 8/20 μs standard lightning impulse current. The electrical characteristics in terms of the reference voltage, total leakage current, resistive leakage current, and third-harmonic component of the total leakage current were measured, and their change rates were analyzed. The results revealed that the total leakage current increased slightly with an increase in the varistor absorbed energy, while the resistive leakage current and the third-harmonic component increased apparently. Therefore, the third-harmonic component of the total leakage current was proposed as the optimal parameter for on-line monitoring of ZnO varistor conditions.

Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films were deposited by an RF magnetron sputtering method on glass substrates using ZnO as a target containing 5 wt% Ga₂O₃ powder (for Ga doping). The structural, electrical, and optical properties of the GZO thin films were investigated as a function of the substrate temperatures. The deposition rate decreased with increasing substrate temperatures from room temperature to 350℃. The films showed typical orientation with the c-axis vertical to the glass substrates and the grain size increased up to a substrate temperature of 300℃ but decreased beyond 350℃. The resistivity of GZO thin films deposited at the substrate temperature of 300℃ was 7×10^-4 Ωcm, and it showed a dependence on the carrier concentration and mobility. The optical transmittances of the films with thickness of 3,000 Å were above 80% in the visible region, regardless of the substrate temperatures.

Effective surface area and morphology of a sensitive thin film are important factors for its applications in sensor systems for the analysis of physical properties. In this study, we investigated the morphologies, electrochemical properties, and applicability of zinc oxide multilayer thin films fabricated by electrodeposition and annealing. The microstructure and electrochemical properties of the zinc oxide films were dependent on temperature and applied voltage. The best characteristics were obtained at an applied voltage of -1.4 V and a temperature of 50℃. The morphologies also changed upon annealing. The results suggest that the zinc oxide films fabricated by electrodeposition and annealing can be applied as various sensor materials.

Transparent film heaters employing silver nanowires (Ag NWs) have attracted increasing attention because of their widespread applications. However, the low thermal resistance of Ag NWs limits the maximum operating temperature of the Ag NW film heater. In this study, Ag NW film heaters with high mechanical and thermal stability were successfully developed. The thermal power-out characteristics of the Ag NW heaters were investigated as a function of the Ag NW density. The results revealed that the prepared flexible Ag NW heater possessed high thermal stability over 190℃ owing to ZnO encapsulation. This indicates that the Ag NW film with excellent thermal stability have remarkably high potential for use as electrodes in film heaters operating at high temperatures.

Ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors are used in various industries and fields of research, including optical communication, flame sensing, missile plume detection, astronomical studies, biological sensors, and environmental research. However, general UV detectors that employ Schottky junction diodes and p^-n junctions have high fabrication cost and low quantum efficiency. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of materials used to manufacture UV photodetectors in a low-cost solution process that requires easy fabrication of flexible substrates. We fabricated p-type NiO and n-type ZnO substrates with wide band gap by the sol^-gel method and compared the characteristics of substrates prepared under different spin-coating and heat-treatment conditions.

A high-performing all-transparent photodetector was created by configuring a MoO_x/NiO/ZnO/ITO structure on a glass substrate. The ITO bottom layer was applied as a back contact. To achieve the transparent p/n junction, p-type NiO was coated on the n-type ZnO layer. Reactive sputtering was used to spontaneously form the ZnO or NiO layer. In order to improve the transparent photodetector performance, the functional MoO_x window layer was used. Optically, the MoO_x window provided a refractive index layer (n=1.39) lower than that of NiO (n=2), increasing the absorption of the incident light wavelengths (λ_s). Moreover, the MoO_x window can provide a lower sheet resistance to improve the carrier collection for the photoresponses. The MoO_x/NiO/ZnO/ITO device showed significantly better photoresponses of 877.05 (at λ=460 nm), 87.30 (λ=520 nm), and 30.38 (λ=620 nm), compared to 197.28 (λ=460 nm), 51.74 (λ=520 nm) and 25.30 (λ=620 nm) of the NiO/ZnO/ITO device. We demonstrated the high-performing transparent photodetector by using the multifunctional MoO_x window layer.

ZnO thin films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and then diffused by using an As source in the ampouletube. Also, the ZnO p-n homojunction was made by using As-doped ZnO thin films, and its properties were analyzed. After the As doping, the surface roughness increased, the crystal quality deteriorated, and the full width at half maximum was increased. The As-doped ZnO thin films showed typical p-type properties, and their resistivity was as low as 2.19×10^-3 Ωcm, probably because of the in-diffusion from an external As source and out-diffusion from the GaAs substrate. Also, the ZnO p-n junction displayed the typical rectification properties of a p-n junction. Therefore, the As diffusion method is effective for obtaining ZnO films with p-type properties.

An all-transparent photodetector was fabricated by structuring Cu₂O/ZnO/AZO/ITO on a glass substrate. The visible-range transmittance was as high as 80%, which ensures clear vision forhuman eyes. High-transparency metal conductive oxides (p-type Cu₂O and n-type ZnO) were appliedto form the transparent p/n junction. The functional AZO layer was adopted to improve the transparent photodetector performance between the ZnO and ITO, improving the photoresponses because of its electrical conductivity. To clarify the AZO functionality, a comparator device was prepared without the AZO layer in the formation of Cu₂O/ZnO/ITO/Glass. The Cu₂O/ZnO/AZO/ITO device provided a rectifying ratio of 113.46, significantly better than the 9.44 of the Cu₂O/ZnO/ITO device. In addition, the Cu₂O/ZnO/AZO/ITO device`s photoresponses at short wavelengths were better than those of the comparator. The functioning AZO layer provides ahigh-performing transparent Cu oxide photodetector and may suggest a route for the design of efficient photoelectric devices.

ZnO:Al thin films were deposited on glass substrate by RF magnetron sputtering followed by in situ heat treatment in the same chamber. Effects of in situ heat treatment on properties of ZnO:Al thin films were investigated in this study. As heat treatment temperature was increased, crystal quality was improved first and then it was deteriorated, surface roughness was decreased, and sheet resistance was also decreased. The decrease in sheet resistance was caused by increasing carrier concentration due to decreased surface roughness. The decrease in surface roughness resulted in increase of transmittance. Therefore, in situ heat treatment is an effective method for obtaining films with better electrical characteristics.

In this study, we fabricated a TFT gas sensor with ZnO nanorods grown by hydrothermal synthesis. The suggested devices were compared with the conventional ZnO film-type TFTs in terms of the gas-response properties and the electrical transfer characteristics. The ZnO seed layer is formed by atomic-layer deposition (ALD), and the precursors for the nanorods are zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO₃)₂·6H₂O) and hexamethylenetetramine ((CH₂)6N₄). When 15 ppm of NO gas was supplied in a gas chamber at 150°C to analyze the sensing capability of the suggested devices, the sensitivity (S) was 4.5, showing that the nanorod-type devices respond sensitively to the external environment. These results can be explained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, which showed that the oxygen deficiency of ZnO nanorods is higher than that of ZnO film, and confirms that the ZnO nanorod-type TFTs are advantageous for the fabrication of high-performance gas sensors.

This study focuses on the effects of doping Zn₂BiVO₆ and Co₃O₄ on the sintering and electrical properties of ZnO; where, ZZ consists of 0.5 mol% Zn₂BiVO₆ in ZnO, and ZZCo consists of 1/3 mol% Co₃O₄ in ZZ. As ZnO was sintered at about 800℃, the liquid phases, which are composed of Zn₂BiVO₆ and Zn₂BiVO₆-rich phases, were found to be segregated at the grain boundaries of sintered ZZ and ZZCo, respectively, which demonstrates that V_o^·(0.33~0.36 eV) are formed as dominant defects according to the analysis of admittance spectroscopy. As Co₃O₄ is doped to ZZ, the resistivity of ZnO decreases to ~38%, while donor density (N_d), interface state density (N_t), and barrier height (Φ_b) increase twice higher than those of ZZ, according to C-V characteristics. This result harbingers that ZZCo and its derivative compositions will open the gate for ZnO to be applied as more progressive varistors in the future, as well as the advantageous opportunity of manufacturing ZnO chip varistors at lower sintering temperatures below 900℃.

Highly photosensitive and wide bandgap amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiO_x:H) films were developed at low temperature ranges (100~150℃) with employing plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition by optimizing H₂/SiH₄ gas ratio and CO₂ flow. Photosensitivity more than 10⁵ and wide bandgap (1.81~1.85 eV) properties were used for making the a-SiO_x:H thin film solar cells, which exhibited a high open circuit voltage of 0.987 V at the substrate temperature of 100℃. In addition, a power conversion efficiency of 6.87% for the cell could be improved up to 7.77% by employing a new n-type nc-SiO_x:H/ZnO:Al/Ag triple back-reflector that offers better short circuit currents in the thin film photovoltaic devices.