Novel rare earth Gd and Al co-doped ZnO thin films prepared by nebulizer spray method for optoelectronic applications

V. Anand, A. Sakthivelu, K. Deva Arun Kumar, S. Valanarasu, V. Ganesh, Mohd Shkir, A. Kathalingam, S. AlFaify

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, for the first time, rare earth element gadolinium and aluminum co-doped zinc oxide (Gd:AZO) films were prepared on insulating glass plates using cost-effective nebulizer spray method with various Gd co-doping levels (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 at.%). The deposited films were characterized using X-ray diffraction, FT-Raman, AFM, EDAX, UV-VIS spectroscopy, Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum and Hall Effect measurement at room temperature. From XRD study, it is confirmed that the Gd and Al ions are incorporated into ZnO lattice. Film crystallinity is slightly reduced due to Gd content by increasing lattice defects. Topology of AFM images displays a slight increase of Gd:AZO thin film roughness from 20 nm to 36 nm, with an increase of thickness from 232 to 324 nm respectively. Elemental mapping and EDAX studies confirmed the existence of Zn, O, Al and Gd elements in the prepared Gd:AZO thin films. Spray deposited pristine AZO films showed maximum optical transmittance ∼91% in entire wavelength spectrum and energy gap value ∼3.31eV. The observed PL spectra showed as a UV emission at 387 nm for deposited films. The obtained minimum resistivity and maximum figure of merit values are 3.42 × 10−4 Ωcm, and 18.68 × 10−3(Ω/sq)−1, respectively for 1.5 at.% Gd co-doped AZO thin film. Both values are decent enough for opto-electronic devices.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)311-322
Number of pages12
JournalSuperlattices and Microstructures
Volume123
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2018

Keywords

  • Al and Gd co-doping
  • AZO thin film
  • Electronic properties
  • Optical properties
  • Rare earth material

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