Structural,optical and electrical characterization of ZnO:Ga thin films for organic photovoltaic applications

Gallium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga) films were prepared on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. The effect of growth temperature on microstructure, optical and electrical properties of the films was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–visible spectrophotometer and four-point probe. The results show that all the films are polycrystalline and (002) oriented, and that the growth temperature significantly affects the microstructure and optoelectrical properties of the films. The film deposited at 670 K has the largest grain size of 71.9 nm, the lowest resistivity of 8.3 × 10^? 4 Ω?cm and the highest figure of merit of 2.1 × 10^? 2 Ω^? 1. Furthermore, the optical energy gaps and optical constants were determined by optical characterization methods. The dispersion behavior of the refractive index was also studied using the Sellmeir's dispersion model and the oscillator parameters of the films were obtained.     

Preparation,characterization and optical properties of nanostructured ZnO thin films

Nanostructured ZnO thin film on a glass slide has been prepared by the spin-coating method together with calcining at 500 °C for 2 h in flowing oxygen atmosphere. The grain size of the ZnO nanoparticles is estimated to be ca. 12 nm as determined by the absorption spectrum and powder X-ray diffraction analysis. The photoluminescent peaks that centered at ca. 379 and 388 nm are assigned to the spontaneous emission and exciton–exciton emission, respectively. The thin film also shows frequency-tripled properties for the output when the laser beam of 1.06 μm is input in convergent beam.     

Structural and optical properties of Cu doped ZnO thin films by co-sputtering

This paper reports on the structural and optical properties of ZnCuO thin films that were prepared by co-sputtering for the application of p-type-channel transparent thin-film transistors (TFTs). Pure ceramic ZnO and metal Cu targets were prepared for the co-sputtering of the ZnCuO thin films. The effects of the Cu concentration on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the ZnCuO films were investigated after their heat treatment. It was observed from the XRD measurements that the ZnCuO films with a Cu concentration of 7% had ZnO(002), Cu2O(111), and Cu2O(200) planes. The 7% Cu-doped ZnO films also showed a band-gap energy of approximately 2.05 eV, an average transmittance of approximately 62%, and a p-type carrier density of approximately 1.33 x 10(19) cm-3 at room temperature. The bottom-gated TFTs that were fabricated with the ZnCuO thin film as a p-type channel exhibited an on-off ratio of approximately 6. These results indicate the possibility of applying ZnCuO thin films with variable band-gap energies to ZnO-based optoelectronic devices.     

Structural characterization of ZnO thin films deposited by dc magnetron sputtering

In this work we present recent results on ZnO thin films grown by dc magnetron sputtering technique at room temperature (RT), focusing on structural and surface characterization using conventional cross-section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) and high resolution cross section transmission electron microscopy (HRXTEM) in an attempt to understand the thickness influence on film, mechanical and optical properties as well as photoreduction/oxidation conductivity changes. Films were found to be polycrystalline with a columnar mode of growth. For films with thickness over 100 nm, XTEM and HRTEM analysis evidenced the presence of a small grains transition layer near interface with the substrate, feature which plays an important role in ZnO thin films for gas sensing application. The control of such structural parameters is proved to be critical for the improvement of their gas sensing performance.     

射频磁控溅射制备Mn掺杂ZnO薄膜的结构与光学性能

采用反应射频磁控溅射方法制备Zn1-xMnxO薄膜(0≤x≤0.25),并在不同温度下进行退火处理.通过原子力显微镜、薄膜X射线衍射、透射电子显微镜和透射光谱对薄膜的成分、表面形貌、微结构和光学性质进行了研究.结果表明,薄膜结晶质量明显地依赖于掺杂Mn元素的浓度,所有薄膜都表现了沿(002)晶面方向择优取向生长,当Mn...     

Structural and morphological properties of ZnO:Ga thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising semiconductor material with a great variety of applications. Compared to undoped ZnO, impurity-doped ZnO has a lower resistivity and better stability. With this aim, Ga has been proposed as a dopant. In this study, the structural characteristics and surface morphology of ZnO films produced by PEMOCVD at a substrate temperature of 250 °C on the c-plane (001) of sapphire were investigated. Doping was realized with 1, 3, 5 and 10 wt.% of Ga₂(AA)₃ in the precursor's mixture. At lower contents, Ga stimulates growth of (002) oriented textured films and the smallest FWHM was obtained as low as 0.17° for ZnO:Ga with 1 wt.%. A change in preferential orientation as well as surface smoothing and roughness decreasing of the films were observed with further increasing Ga content in precursor's mixture. We assume a key role of Ga and note that such a feature would be beneficial for the application of ZnO thin films for formation of abrupt junctions in p-n device structures.     

Structural and optical characterization of (Sn/Li) co-doped ZnO thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique

(Sn/Li) co-doped ZnO (LTZO) thin films have been deposited by spray pyrolysis technique and their structural, morphological and optical properties have been investigated. The films were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), field-emission scanning electron micrograph (FESEM), (UV–Vis) spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. XRD results revealed that all thin films (LTZO) are polycrystalline with à hexagonal wurtzite structure, moreover when the Li reach (5 at.%) content, the surface thin films of (LTZO5) become covered with bigger and clear nano-sized crystallites and the average value of grain size is 147 nm with mainly hexagonal grains. The (UV–Vis) spectroscopy showed high transmittance in the visible region, which varied between 84% and 93% and the doping of 5 at.% for all the films of Li content thin films (LTZO5) red shifted. The doping ZnO with lithium and tin were eliminates the deep-level emission in orange/red bands (around to 600 nm).     

Electrical and optical studies of Ga-doped ZnO thin films

Nanostructure Ga-doped zinc oxide (GZO) thin films with highly (0 0 2) preferred orientation were fabricated on glass substrates, using radio frequency magnetron sputtering with an GZO ceramic target (The Ga₂O₃ contents was about 3 wt%) and different deposition conditions. The structural features, surface morphology and electrical and optical properties of the GZO thin films were studied, in terms of the deposition parameters. A Grey-based Taguchi method was used to determine the optimal deposition parameters for GZO thin films by considering multiple performance characteristics. The response graph and table for each level of the deposition parameters forms the Grey relational grade and the optimal levels of the deposition parameters were chosen. The experimental results show that the process pressure and the thickness make the most significant contribution to the overall performance. In the confirmation runs, Grey relational analysis showed that the improvement in deposition rate is 14.2 %, the improvement in electrical resistivity 38.1 % and the improvement in optical transmittance is 1.2 %. Annealing in a vacuum further improved the crystalline quality and optoelectronic performances of the GZO thin films.     

Structural and the optical characteristics of PbSx thin films

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - PbSx thin films (x?=?1, 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6) were prepared onto glass substrates using spin coating method. The phases developed...     

Influence of hydrogen introduction on structure and properties of ZnO thin films during sputtering and post-annealing

ZnO thin films were prepared in Ar and Ar + H₂ atmospheres by rf magnetron sputtering, and then they were annealed in vacuum and Ar + H₂ atmosphere, respectively. The structure and optical-electrical properties of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, transmittance spectra, and resistivity measurement, and their dependences on deposition atmosphere, annealing treatment, and aging were studied. The results showed that adding H₂ in deposition atmosphere improved the crystallinity of the films, decreased lattice constant, increased band gap, decreased the resistivity by the order of 10⁴ Ω cm, but exhibited poor conductive stability with aging. After Ar + H₂ and vacuum annealing, crystallinity of the films deposited in Ar and Ar + H₂ was further improved; their resistivity was decreased by the order of 10⁵ and 10¹ Ω cm, respectively, and exhibited high conductive stability with aging. We suggest that the formed main defect is V_O and H_i when H₂ is introduced during deposition, which decreases the resistivity but cannot improve the conductive stability; hydrogen would remove negatively charged oxygen species near grain boundaries during Ar + H₂ annealing to decrease the resistivity, and grain boundaries are passivated by formation of a number of V_O-H complex (H_O) to improve the conductive stability at the same time. Under vacuum annealing, the hydrogen that is introduced non-intentionally from deposition chamber maybe plays an important role; it exists as H_O in the films to improve the conductive stability of the films.     

Structural and optical properties of GaGeTe thin films

Smooth and pinhole-free thin films of Ga₅Ge₁₉Te₇₆ have been obtained by vacuum evaporation. The as-deposited films are amorphous. Thermal annealing at 222°C leads to an amorphous-to-crystalline transition. A maximum contrast of 30% in reflectivity (measured at 1 µm) has been obtained on phase transition from amorphous to crystalline state. The optical constants and the bandgap are reported.     

Structural and nonlinear optical behavior of Ag-doped ZnO films

We present the structural and nonlinear optical behavior of Ag-doped ZnO (AZO) films prepared by magnetron sputtering. The structural of AZO films are systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), respectively. The results show that AZO films can still retain a wurtzite structure, although the c-axis as preferred orientation is decreased by Ag doping. As the amounts of the Ag dopant were increased, the crystallinity as well as the absorptivity and optical band gap were increased. Moreover, the nonlinear optical characterized of the AZO films was studied using Z-scan technique. These samples show self-defocusing nonlinearity and good nonlinear absorption behavior which increases with increasing Ag volume fraction. AZO is a potential nanocomposite material for the development of nonlinear optical devices with a relatively small limiting threshold.     

Structural and optical properties of nitrogen doped ZnO films

Zinc oxide is getting an enormous attention due to its potential applications in a variety of fields such as optoelectronics, spintronics and sensors. The renewed interest in this wide band gap oxide semiconductor relies on its direct high energy gap (E_g ∼ 3.437 eV at low temperatures) and large exciton binding energy. However to reach the stage of device production the difficulty to produce in a reproducible way p-type doping must be overcome.In this study we discuss the structural and optical properties of ZnO films doped with nitrogen, a potential p-type dopant. The films were deposited by magnetron sputtering using different conditions and substrates. The composition and structural properties of the films were studied combining X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering (RBS), and heavy ion elastic recoil detection analysis (HI-ERDA). The results show an improvement of the quality of the films deposited on sapphire with increasing radio-frequency (RF) power with a preferentially growth along the c-axis. The ERDA analysis reveals the presence of H in the films and a homogeneous composition over the entire thickness. The photoluminescence of annealed samples evidences an improvement on the optical quality as identified by the well structured near band edge recombination.     

Ni2+掺杂ZnO薄膜及粉体的结构和发光性能研究

采用激光脉冲沉积法,用XeCl准分子激光器在Si (100)基片、真空和5Pa氧气气氛下制备了Ni2+(0.8％(原子分数))掺杂的呈六角纤锌矿结构的ZnO薄膜.氧气气氛下制备的薄膜沿(002)取向生长,表面比较平整,平均颗粒尺寸为80nm.真空条件下制备的薄膜出现Zn2SiO4杂相,平均颗粒尺寸为150nm.和真空条件下制备的薄膜相比,氧气气氛下制备的薄膜具有较强的ZnO本征发光,在425nm附近出现由于填隙Zn缺陷引起的较宽的蓝光发光带,并且在482nm处出现了由于氧空位和氧间隙间的转换引起的较强的蓝光发光峰,同时由于氧缺陷引起的449nm附近的蓝光发光峰强度明显降低.     

Preparation of manganese-doped ZnO thin films and their characterization

In this study, pure and manganese-doped zinc oxide (Mn:ZnO) thin films were deposited on quartz substrate following successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique. The film growth rate was found to increase linearly with number of dipping cycle. Characterization techniques of XRD, SEM with EDX and UV–visible spectra measurement were done to investigate the effect of Mn doping on the structural and optical properties of Mn:ZnO thin films. Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction reveals that polycrystalline nature of the films increases with increasing manganese incorporation. Particle size evaluated using X-ray line broadening analysis shows decreasing trend with increasing manganese impurification. The average particle size for pure ZnO is 29·71 nm and it reduces to 23·76 nm for 5% Mn-doped ZnO. The strong preferred c-axis orientation is lost due to manganese (Mn) doping. The degree of polycrystallinity increases and the average microstrain in the films decreases with increasing Mn incorporation. Incorporation of Mn was confirmed from elemental analysis using EDX. As the Mn doping concentration increases the optical bandgap of the films decreases for the range of Mn doping reported here. The value of fundamental absorption edge is 3·22 eV for pure ZnO and it decreases to 3·06 eV for 5% Mn:ZnO.     

ZnO∶Li压电薄膜制备及其性能研究

ZnO薄膜的高阻特性在压电方面的应用极为重要.采用sol-gel法在Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si衬底上制备了c轴择优取向优良、电阻率高和化学计量比好的掺Li＋（Li/Zn摩尔比分别为0、0.05、0.10、0.15、0.20）ZnO压电薄膜.研究了退火温度、掺杂浓度对ZnO薄膜晶体质量和电学特性的影响.XRD结果表明,ZnO薄膜的c轴择优取向度受退火温度和掺杂浓度的强烈影响;I-V测试表明,掺Li^＋后薄膜的电阻率显著提高,当Li＋掺杂浓度为0.10（Li/Zn摩尔比）、退火温度为600℃时其电阻率达109Ω@cm;XPS分析结果表明,Li＋掺杂对ZnO薄膜中O1s和ZnL3M45M45的结合能以及Zn/O比都有一定的影响,掺杂后化学计量比更好.     

Investigation of optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on Si substrates using various working pressures by magnetron sputter. The resistivity of the deposited ZnO films decreases with working pressure, and the resistivity of 4.3 × 10⁻³ Ω cm can be obtained without post annealing. According to the optical transmittance measurements, the optical transmittance above 90% in the wavelength longer than 430 nm and about 80% in the wavelength of 380 nm can be found. Using time-resolved photoluminescence measurement, the carrier lifetime increases with working pressure due to the reduction of nonradiative recombination rate. The reduction of nonradiative recombination rate is originated from the decrease of oxygen vacancies in the ZnO films deposited at a higher working pressure. This result is verified by the photoluminescence measurements. Besides, by increasing the working pressure, the absorption coefficient was decreased and the associated optical energy gap of ZnO thin films was increased.     

Control and characterization of structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films fabricated by thermal oxidation Zn metallic films

The physical properties of ZnO thin films fabricated by controlling thermal oxidation zinc metallic films process have been investigated. Comparative characterization of crystallographical, optical or spectroscopic properties of the samples was performed. The as-oxidized sample by rapid thermal process showed level of crystallinity degraded, higher optical transmittance in the visible and near-infrared region, and lower intensity of the near band edge emission compared to those prepared by conventional thermal oxidation. The overall results suggested that with in-depth understanding of the oxidation mechanism, rapid oxidation process could be employed as an approach to fabricate amorphous transparent oxide thin films from low-melting-point metals, which might have potential advantages in microelectronic and optoelectronic applications.     

Structural and optical characterization of CuInS2 thin films grown by vacuum evaporation method

Structural and optical properties of CuInS₂ thin films grown by the single-source thermal evaporation method have been studied. The films were annealed from 100 to 500 °C after an evaporation in air. The surface morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The maximum grain size of the samples after annealing at 400 °C was over 500 nm. The EPM analysis concluded that the polycrystalline CuInS₂ thin films after annealing below 100 °C were Cu-rich, and those annealed above 200 °C were In-rich. The bandgap energy of the CuInS₂ films after annealing above 300 °C was about 1.48 eV.