Air and Vacuum Annealing Effect on the Highly Conducting and Transparent Properties of the Undoped Zinc Oxide Thin Films Prepared by DC Magnetron Sputtering
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56801/MME889Abstract
In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of zinc interstitials (Zni) and oxygen vacancies (VO) on the ZnO electrical conductivity. ZnO films were synthesized via DC magnetron sputtering process using pure Zn target in gases mixture of Ar/O2 = 80/17.5 (sccm). In order to improve the optical and electrical prosperities, the obtained films were subjected to air and vacuum annealing treatment. Several techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD), Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and UV-visible were used to study the influence of heat treatment on structural and physical properties of ZnO films. Electrical conductivity of ZnO thin films was determined by measuring the sheet resistance and thickness of the films. XRD results confirm the synthesis of annealed ZnO films of the hexagonal structure with a preferential orientation along the (002) plane. The average crystallite size is altered between 22.6 to 28.4 nm dependent on the plan orientation of the ZnO film. Morphology and crystallinity of the ZnO structure could efficiently control the transmittance, electrical resistivity and optical band gap. As deposited ZnO film showed a lower electrical resistivity of 2.72×10-3 Ωcm due to the Zn-rich conditions. Under vacuum annealing, a combination of low resistivity (1.17×10-2 Ωcm) and better optical transmittance (87 %) are obtained. ZnO films developed in this study with high transmittance and low resistivity and good electro-optical quality supports their use in transparent and conductive electrode applications. The plan presentation was visualized using Vesta, with the lattice parameter set as follows: a = b = 3.249 Å; c = 5.207 Å; α = β = 90°; γ = 120°. Based on the construction and optimization of primitive cells, the supercells were constructed and then optimized. Finally, (002) and (103) planes were cut and the planar supercell structure was constructed. In order to make a plane representation for the solid bulk with 10 Å of thickness.
References
Shelke, V., M. Bhole, and D. Patil, Open air annealing effect on the electrical and optical properties of tin doped ZnO nanostructure. Solid state sciences, 2012. 14(6): p. 705-710.
Manivasaham, A., K. Ravichandran, and K. Subha, Light intensity effects on the sensitivity of ZnO: Cr gas sensor. Surface Engineering, 2017. 33(11): p. 866-876.
Radjehi, L., et al., Oxygen effect on structural and optical properties of zinc oxide. Surface Engineering, 2019. 35(6): p. 520-526.
Oh, S. and J. Kim, Correlation between the Morphology of ZnO Layers and the Electroluminescence of Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes. Applied Sciences, 2019. 9(21): p. 4539.
Cai, P., et al., Enhancement of conductivity and transmittance of ZnO films by post hydrogen plasma treatment. Journal of Applied Physics, 2009. 105(8): p. 083713.
Janotti, A. and C.G. Van de Walle, Native point defects in ZnO. Physical Review B, 2007. 76(16): p. 165202.
Kim, D.-H., G.-W. Lee, and Y.-C. Kim, Interaction of zinc interstitial with oxygen vacancy in zinc oxide: An origin of n-type doping. Solid state communications, 2012. 152(18): p. 1711-1714.
Ahn, C.H., et al., A comparative analysis of deep level emission in ZnO layers deposited by various methods. Journal of Applied Physics, 2009. 105(1): p. 013502.
Li, J., et al., Effects of rapid thermal annealing in different ambients on structural, electrical, and optical properties of ZnO thin films by sol-gel method. Journal of electroceramics, 2011. 26: p. 84-89.
Benramache, S., et al., Influence of growth time on crystalline structure, conductivity and optical properties of ZnO thin films. Journal of Semiconductors, 2013. 34(2): p. 023001.
Tsuji, T. and M. Hirohashi, Influence of oxygen partial pressure on transparency and conductivity of RF sputtered Al-doped ZnO thin films. Applied Surface Science, 2000. 157(1-2): p. 47-51.
Mathew, J.P., G. Varghese, and J. Mathew, Structural and optical properties of Ni: ZnO thin films-effect of annealing and doping concentration. Sop Trans. Appl. Phys, 2014. 1: p. 27-36.
Hoggas, K., et al., Structural, microstructural, and optical properties of Zn 1− x Mg x O thin films grown onto glass substrate by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. Applied Physics A, 2015. 120: p. 745-755.
Hutson, A.R., Hall effect studies of doped zinc oxide single crystals. Physical review, 1957. 108(2): p. 222.
Li, W., et al., Effects of substrate temperature on the properties of facing-target sputtered Al-doped ZnO films. Solar energy materials and solar cells, 2007. 91(8): p. 659-663.
Minami, T., Present status of transparent conducting oxide thin-film development for Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO) substitutes. Thin Solid Films, 2008. 516(17): p. 5822-5828.
K.E. Knutsen, A. Galeckas, A. Zubiaga, F. Tuomisto, G. C. Farlow, B. G. Svensson, A. Y. Kuznetsov: Zinc vacancy and oxygen interstitial in ZnO revealed by sequential annealing and electron irradiation. Physical Review B, 2012. 86 :p.121-203.
Ellmer, K., Magnetron sputtering of transparent conductive zinc oxide: relation between the sputtering parameters and the electronic properties. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2000. 33(4): p. R17.
Ghosh, R., G. Paul, and D. Basak, Effect of thermal annealing treatment on structural, electrical and optical properties of transparent sol–gel ZnO thin films. Materials research bulletin, 2005. 40(11): p. 1905-1914.
Li, L., et al., Effect of annealing treatment on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of Al-doped ZnO thin films. Rare Metals, 2007. 26(3): p. 247-253.
D. Shiwen, L. Yongtang, Effect of Annealing on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Magnetron Sputtered Cu Thin Films. Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, 2015. 5:p. 1-8.
Water, W. and S.-Y. Chu, Physical and structural properties of ZnO sputtered films. Materials Letters, 2002. 55(1-2): p. 67-72.
Wang, Y., et al., Origin of (103) plane of ZnO films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 2013. 24: p. 3764-3767.
Usseinov, A., et al., Hydrogen induced metallization of ZnO (11̅00) surface: Ab initio study. Thin Solid Films, 2014. 553: p. 38-42.
Tu, Y., et al., Control of oxygen vacancies in ZnO nanorods by annealing and their influence on ZnO/PEDOT: PSS diode behaviour. Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 2018. 6(7): p. 1815-1821.
S. Yang. Y. Liu. Y. Zhang, D. Mo: Bulletin of Materials Science, 33 (2014) 209-214.
Sharma, S. and G. Exarhos. Raman spectroscopic investigation of ZnO and doped ZnO films, nanoparticles and bulk material at ambient and high pressures. in Solid State Phenomena. 1997. Trans Tech Publ.
Lee, J.-H., et al., Tuning the morphology and properties of nanostructured Cu-ZnO thin films using a two-step sputtering technique. Metals, 2020. 10(4): p. 437.
Zhang, P., et al., The origin of the∼ 274 cm−1 additional Raman mode induced by the incorporation of N dopants and a feasible route to achieve p-type ZnO: N thin films. Applied Surface Science, 2015. 327: p. 154-158.
Yahia, S.B., et al., Raman study of oriented ZnO thin films deposited by sol–gel method. Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy, 2008. 71(4): p. 1234-1238.
K. Elmer, R. Mientus: Solid State Phenomena, 37-38 (1994) 433.
Roguai, S., et al., Structure, microstructure and determination of optical constants from transmittance data of co-doped Zn0. 90Co0. 05M0. 05O (MAl, Cu, Cd, Na) films. Journal of alloys and compounds, 2014. 599: p. 150-158.
V. Gokulakrishnan, V. Purushothaman, E. Arthi, K. Jeganathan, K. Ramamurth: The physica status solidi (pss) journal, 209 (2012) 1-6.
Hu, Y., et al., Effects of heat treatment on properties of ITO films prepared by rf magnetron sputtering. Vacuum, 2004. 75(2): p. 183-188.
A. A. Alnajjar, Advances in Condensed Matter Physics, 2012. 8: 682125.
Xiu, F., et al., Photoluminescence study of Sb-doped p-type ZnO films by molecular-beam epitaxy. Applied Physics Letters, 2005. 87(25): p. 252102.
Ghosh, J., R. Ghosh, and P. Giri, Tuning the visible photoluminescence in Al doped ZnO thin film and its application in label-free glucose detection. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2018. 254: p. 681-689.
Giri, P., et al., Correlation between microstructure and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by ball milling. Journal of Applied Physics, 2007. 102(9): p. 093515.
Aissani, L., et al., Effect of annealing treatment on the microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of chromium carbonitride coatings. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2019. 359: p. 403-413.
Aljawf, R.N., F. Rahman, and S. Kumar, Defects/vacancies engineering and ferromagnetic behavior in pure ZnO and ZnO doped with Co nanoparticles. Materials Research Bulletin, 2016. 83: p. 108-115.
Minami, T., H. Nanto, and S. Takata, Highly conductive and transparent aluminum doped zinc oxide thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 1984. 23(5A): p. L280.
S. Y. Ma, X. H. Yang, X. L. Huang, A. M. Sun, H. S. Song, H. B. Zhu, Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2013. 45: p. 9-15.
Downloads
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Abdenour Saoudi, Linda Aissani, Lamia Radjehi, Abdelkader Djelloul, Salim Lamri, Komla Nomenyo, Gilles Lerondel, Frédéric Sanchette
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their published articles online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website, social networks like ResearchGate or Academia), as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Except where otherwise noted, the content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.