Microstructural, optical, and electrical properties of Ni-Al co-doped ZnO films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering

Young Dae Jo, K. N. Hui, K.S. Hui, Y. R. Cho, Kwang Ho Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ni-Al co-doped ZnO (NiAl:ZnO) films with fixed Al content at 2 wt% and different Ni contents (2.5, 3, and 5 wt%) were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering in an argon atmosphere at room temperature. X-ray diffraction revealed that all films showed a highly preferential (0 0 2) c-axis orientation. XPS revealed the presence of metallic Ni, NiO, and Ni2O3 states, and Ni atoms were successfully doped in NiAl:ZnO films, which did not result in a change in ZnO crystal structure and orientation. The electrical resistivity of NiAl:ZnO film was decreased to 2.59 × 10-3 Ω cm at a Ni doping concentration of 3 wt% compared with undoped Al-doped ZnO film (5.58 × 10-3 Ω cm). The mean optical transmittance in the visible range was greater than 80% for all films. Band gap widening (4.18 eV) was observed in the NiAl:ZnO films with 5 wt% Ni, attributed to the Burstein-Moss shift due to the increase of carrier concentration.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)345-350
Number of pages6
JournalMaterials Research Bulletin
Volume51
Early online date19 Dec 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2014

Keywords

  • A. Composites
  • A. Thin films
  • B. Sputtering
  • C. X-ray diffraction
  • D. Optical properties

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