Defects and doping effects in TiO2 and ZnO thin films of transparent and conductive oxides

Transparent and conductive oxide films are a class of materials of increasing importance which find a wide range of application fields like photovoltaics as transparent electrodes, optoelectronics, touch screens, video displays or photocatalysis, and other emerging technologies. The oxide doping processes that are employed to obtain these materials play a fundamental role to achieve optimal electrical and optical properties in practical applications with cheap and environmental friendly materials. The tight interplay between doping and defects in the wide bandgap oxides is decisive for the doping success and the desired functional properties achievement. The chapter deals with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide doped films characteristics for their use as transparent and conductive materials and the role of their structural defects on their electrical and optical properties.