The effect of substrate temperature on the structural, optical and electrical properties of vacuum deposited ZnTe thin films

The present paper reports the effect of substrate temperature on the structural, optical and electrical properties of vacuum deposited zinc telluride (ZnTe) thin films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the films, deposited on glass substrates, revealed that they have cubic structure with strong (111) texture. Room temperature deposits are tellurium rich and an increase in the substrate temperature up to 553 °K results in stoichiometric films. Electrical conductivity has been observed to increase with the increase in substrate temperature, accompanied by increase in the carrier concentration and the mobility of the carriers. The optical bandgap energy and the thermal activation energy of the films have also been evaluated.     

The effects of substrate temperature on the structure and properties of ZnO films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

ZnO thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on glass substrates with growth temperature from room temperature (RT) to 500 °C. The effects of substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission spectra, and RT photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The results showed that crystalline and (0 0 2)-oriented ZnO films were obtained at all substrate temperatures. As the substrate temperature increased from RT to 500 °C, the ratio of grain size in height direction to that in the lateral direction gradually decreased. The same grain size in two directions was obtained at 200 °C, and the size was smallest in all samples, which may result in maximum E_g and E₀ of the films. UV emission was observed only in the films grown at 200 °C, which is probably because the stoichiometry of ZnO films was improved at a suitable substrate temperature. It was suggested that the UV emission might be related to the stoichiometry in the ZnO film rather than the grain size of the thin film.     

Effect of annealing temperature on structural, electrical and optical properties of B-N codoped ZnO thin films

The B-N codoped p-type ZnO thin films have been prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering using a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen as sputtering gas. The effect of annealing temperature on the structural, electrical and optical properties of B-N codoped films was investigated by using X-ray diffraction, Hall-effect, photoluminescence and optical transmission measurements. Results indicated that the electrical properties of the films were extremely sensitive to the annealing temperature and the conduction type could be changed dramatically from n-type to p-type, and finally changed to weak p-type in a range from 600 °C to 800 °C. The B-N codoped p-type ZnO film with good structural, electrical and optical properties can be obtained at an intermediate annealing temperature region (e.g., 650 °C). The codoped p-type ZnO had the lowest resistivity of 2.3 Ω cm, Hall mobility of 11 cm²/Vs and carrier concentration of 1.2 × 10¹⁷ cm^− 3.     

Effect of dopant concentration on the structural, electrical and optical properties of Mn-doped ZnO films

The Mn-doped ZnO (Zn_1 − xMn_xO) thin films with manganese compositions in the range of 0-8 at.% were deposited by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on quartz glass substrates at room temperature (RT). The influence of Mn concentration on the structural, electrical and optical properties of Zn_1 − xMn_xO films has been investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements reveal that all the films are single phase and have wurtzite structure with (002) c-axis orientation. The chemical states of Mn have been identified as the divalent state of Mn²⁺ ions in ZnO lattice. As the content of Mn increases, the c-lattice constant and the optical band gap of the films increase while the crystalline quality deteriorates gradually. Hall-effect measurements reveal that all the films are n-type and the conductivity of the films has a severe degradation with Mn content. It is also found that the intensity of RT photoluminescence spectra (PL) is suppressed and saturates with Mn doping.     

衬底温度对磁控溅射法制备ZnO薄膜结构及光学特性的影响

采用射频反应磁控溅射法在玻璃衬底上制备了具有c轴高择优取向的ZnO薄膜,利用X射线衍射仪、扫描探针显微镜及紫外分光光度计研究了生长温度对ZnO薄膜的结构及光学吸收和透射特性的影响.结果表明,合适的衬底温度有利于提高ZnO薄膜的结晶质量;薄膜在紫外区显示出较强的光吸收,在可见光区的平均透过率达到90%以上,且随着衬底温度的升高,薄膜的光学带隙减小、吸收边红移.采用量子限域模型对薄膜的光学带隙作了相应的理论计算,计算结果与实验值符合得较好.     

Influence of substrate temperature on the structural,optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis

The influence of substrate temperature on the structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO films prepared by the spray pyrolysis method using aqueous solution of zinc acetate has been investigated. The films are polycrystalline and X-ray diffraction measurements show a strong preferred orientation along the [002] plane which is strongly dependent on the substrate temperature. Optical absorption spectra, show high transparency of the film (90–95% transmission) in the visible range, with a sharp absorption edge around 375 nm wavelength of light which closely corresponds to the intrinsic band gap of ZnO (3.3 eV). ZnO films with the lowest resistivity, which is due to the increased mobility resulting from the improvement of the crystallinity of the films, can be prepared at a substrate temperature of 490 °C.     

Effect of substrate temperature on structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition

ZnO thin films were grown by the pulse laser deposition (PLD) method using Si (100) substrates at various substrate temperatures. The influence of the substrate temperature on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the ZnO thin films was investigated. All of the thin films showed c-axis growth perpendicular to the substrate surface. At a substrate temperature of 500 °C, the ZnO thin film showed the highest (002) peak with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.39°. The X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) study showed that Zn was in excess irrespective of the substrate temperature and that the thin film had a nearly stoichiometrical composition at a substrate temperature of 500 °C. The photoluminescence (PL) investigation showed that the narrowest UV FWHM of 15.8 nm and the largest ratio of the UV peak to the deep-level peak of 32.9 were observed at 500 °C. Hall effect measurement systems provided information about the carrier concentration, mobility and resistivity. At a substrate temperature of 500 °C, the Hall mobility was the value of 37.4 cm²/Vs with carrier concentration of 1.36 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ and resistivity of 2.08 × 10⁻¹ Ω cm.     

Structural, electrical and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO films on cyclo-olefin polymer substrates

Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films with a thickness of 100 nm were prepared on cyclo-olefin polymer (COP) and glass substrates at various temperatures below 100 °C by ion plating with direct-current arc discharge. The dependences of the characteristics of GZO films on the substrate temperature Ts were investigated. All the polycrystalline GZO films, which exhibited a high average visible transmittance of greater than 86%, were crystallized with a wurtzite structure oriented along the c-axis. The lowest resistivities of the GZO films were 5.3 × 10^− 4 Ωcm on the glass substrate and 5.9 × 10^− 4 Ωcm on the COP substrate.     

Study of substrate temperature and copper doping effects on structural,electrical and optical properties of Cu-doped and undoped ZnO thin films

Undoped and Cu-doped ZnO (ZnO:Cu) thin films were prepared using magnetron co-sputtering. Effects of substrate temperature \(T_{s}\) on their structural, electrical and optical properties were comparatively investigated using X-ray diffraction, atom force microscopy, and ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer. ZnO:Cu thin films with different doping content were prepared and studied in order to investigate the effects of Cu-doping content. The results show that all the films exhibit a single phase (002)-oriented hexagonal wurtzite structure. Higher \(T_{s}\) enhances the crystallinity and reduces the compressive stress of the films. Cu-doping and increasing \(T_{s}\) lead to rougher surface and larger granules. The resistivity of both the ZnO and ZnO:Cu films increases with \(T_{s}\). Interestingly, optical band gap \(E_{g}\) of ZnO:Cu films increases significantly with \(T_{s}\), while \(E_{g}\) of undoped film is not obviously influenced by \(T_{s}\). Cu-doping content is an important factor affecting the physical properties of ZnO:Cu thin films. In our experiments, Cu-doping composition sightly decreases with \(T_{s}\) increasing. Cu-doping reduces the resistivity, leads to the red-shift of absorption edge, and narrows \(E_{g}\) of ZnO thin films.     

Substrate temperature dependence of electrical and structural properties of Ru films

Microstructures and resistivities of sputtered Ru films were investigated as a function of substrate temperature to obtain a single-layered Ru barrier without a Ta/TaN under layer. High resistivity Ru films with a high density of crevices, which enhances Cu diffusion along the crevices, were formed by the conventional sputtering process, i.e., sputtering at room temperature and annealing at 400 °C-700 °C for 30 min in Ar + 3%H₂. But, crevice-free and smooth Ru films with low resistivity, the same as that for the bulk phase, were formed when substrate temperature add sputtering was raised to 700 °C. Ru films formed by this process had (002) preferred orientation and then Cu (111) was formed by plating. This result corresponded to the tendency predicted by ab initio calculations.     

Effects of substrate on the structural, electrical and optical properties of Al-doped ZnO films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

Transparent and conductive Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films were deposited on substrates including alkali-free glass, quartz glass, Si, and SiO₂ buffer layer on alkali-free glass by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The effects of different substrates on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the AZO films were investigated. It was found that the crystal structures were remarkably influenced by the type of the substrates due to their different thermal expansion coefficients, lattice mismatch and flatness. The AZO film (100 nm in thickness) deposited on the quartz glass exhibited the best crystallinity, followed sequentially by those deposited on the Si, the SiO₂ buffer layer, and the alkali-free glass. The film deposited on the quartz glass showed the lowest resistivity of 5.14 × 10^− 4 Ω cm among all the films, a carrier concentration of 1.97 × 10²¹ cm^− 3 and a Hall mobility of 6.14 cm²/v·s. The average transmittance of this film was above 90% in the visible light spectrum range. Investigation into the thickness-dependence of the AZO films revealed that the crystallinity was improved with increasing thickness and decreasing surface roughness, accompanied with a decrease in the film resistivity.     

Influence of thermal annealing on electrical and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO thin films

Influence of thermal annealing on electrical properties of GZO films has been studied by means of Hall effect measurements and optical characterization based on Drude model analysis for transmission and reflection spectra. Electrical resistivity increased with increasing annealing temperature. Changes of electrical properties were compared between air and N₂ gas atmosphere. Thermal stability in the air was worse compared to the N₂ gas atmosphere. Annealing at rather high temperature caused decrease in the Hall mobility and increase in optical mobility. The difference between the Hall mobility and the optical mobility was attributed to carrier scattering at grain boundaries. Three kinds of deposition method, ion plating using DC arc discharge, DC magnetron sputtering, and RF power superimposed DC magnetron sputtering were compared in terms of the thermal stability.     

Influence of substrate temperature on the electrical and optical properties of amorphous germanium films

The influence of substrate temperature on electrical and optical properties of the amorphous germanium films deposited under well-defined conditions has been investigated. DC electrical conductivity in the temperature range of 80–573°K has been measured. In the low temperature region Mott’sT ^−1/4 law of conductivity is obeyed. The estimated values ofT ₀ andN show significant decrease with change inT _s in steps of 50°K. Similar results are seen in annealed films. The values of activation energy and optical energy increase withT _s.     

Effect of annealing treatment on structural, electrical, and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

The effect of annealing on structural, electrical, and optical properties of Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering was investigated in air and nitrogen. GZO films are polycrystalline with a preferred 002 orientation. The resistivities of annealed films are larger than the as-deposited. The transmittance in the near IR region increases greatly and the optical band gap decreases after annealing. The photoluminescence spectra is composed of a near band edge emission and several deep level emissions (DLE) which are dominated by a blue emission. After annealing, these DLEs are enhanced evidently.     

Effect of thickness on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ZnO films

A series of ZnO films of different thickness have been deposited on glass substrates using sol-gel technique by varying the number of spin coatings and the effect of film thickness on the structural, electrical and optical properties have been investigated. The XRD results indicate that the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (0 0 2) diffraction peak and the strain along c-axis are decreased as the film is grown up to a thickness of 300 nm. Above 300 nm, the strain again becomes appreciable. The surface morphology shows that the grains become more uniform and bigger in size as the film thickness increases. Electrical result shows that although ZnO film with thickness of around 260 nm has the highest resistivity but is better for current conduction. The excitonic nature in the absorption spectrum becomes prominent for a film with thickness of around 260 nm. The band gap increases and then decreases as the film grows thicker.     

Impact of substrate temperature on the microstructure, electrical and optical properties of sputtered nanoparticle V2O5 thin films

Applying reactive direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering method, nanoparticle vanadium pentoxide thin films were deposited onto glass slides and KBr substrates at different substrate temperatures. The films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscope. Infrared spectra were recorded with a Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer. It was found that, excepting the compositions, the film growth and vanadium oxygen bonds were strongly affected by the substrate temperature. Electrical measurements indicated that the square resistances of films showed an exponential decrease from 46 MΩ/□ to 33 kΩ/□ with substrate temperature increasing from 433 K to 593 K, and that the square resistance-temperature curves of films exhibited typical semiconducting behavior. Optical investigations were carried out in the near infrared and ultraviolet-visible range. Transmittance varied from about 95 to 55% in near-infrared range when the substrate temperature was elevated. In ultraviolet-visible range, optical band gaps and refractive indexes of films were deduced according to the transmission and reflection spectra.     

Effect of Ga doping on micro/structural, electrical and optical properties of pulsed laser deposited ZnO thin films

Undoped and Ga doped ZnO thin films (1% GZO, 3% GZO and 5% GZO) were grown on c-Al₂O₃ substrates using the 1, 3 and 5 at. wt.% Ga doped ZnO targets by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that highly c-axis oriented, single phase, undoped and Ga doped ZnO thin films with wurtzite structure were deposited. Micro-Raman scattering analysis showed that Ga doping introduces defects in the host lattice. The E₂^High mode of ZnO in Ga doped ZnO thin film was observed to shift to higher wavenumber indicating the presence of residual compressive stress. Appearance of the normally Raman inactive B₁ modes (B₁^Low, 2B₁^Low and B₁^High) due to breaking of local translational symmetry, also indicated that defects were introduced into the host lattice due to Ga incorporation. Band gap of the Ga doped ZnO thin films was observed to shift to higher energy with the increase in doping concentration and is explicated by the Burstein-Moss effect. Electrical resistivity measurements of the undoped and GZO thin films in the temperature range 50 to 300 K revealed the metal to semiconductor transition for 3 and 5% GZO thin films.     

Effect of substrate temperature on the structure and optical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by reactive rf magnetron sputtering

Zinc Oxide films were deposited on quartz substrates by reactive rf magnetron sputtering of zinc target. The effect of substrate temperature on the crystallinity and band edge luminescence has been studied. The films deposited at 300 °C exhibited the strongest c-axis orientation. AFM and Raman studies indicated that the films deposited at 600 °C possess better overall crystallinity with reduction of optically active defects, leading to strong and narrow PL emission.     

Electrical properties of Na/Mg co-doped ZnO thin films

Conducting and transparent Na-Mg co-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on glass substrates by sol-gel method. Zn (CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O(AR), MgCl₂·6H₂O(AR)) and NaCl (AR) were selected as precursors. They were dissolved in methanol to form a mixed solution with a designed doping ion concentration. Diethanolamine (HN(CH₂CH₂OH)₂, DEA, AR) was added into the mixed solution as a stabilizer in a DEA/Zn(OAC)₂ molar ratio of 1:1. The electrical properties, phase structure, and surface morphology of the films were analyzed via Hall coefficient analyses, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The films exhibited an obscure (002) preferential growth in all the cases. Surface morphology studies showed that an increase in the films' thickness causes an increase in the grain size. Films with 0.25 μm thickness, prepared under optimal deposition conditions followed by an annealing treatment in vacuum, showed an electrical resistivity in the level of 10² Ω cm and p-type conduction. These results make Na-Mg co-doped ZnO thin films an attractive material for transparent electrodes in thin film devices.