Effect of laser energy on the properties of neodymium-doped indium zinc oxide thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract

The neodymium (Nd) doped indium-zinc-oxide (NIZO) is a material with high mobility and great potential in transparent electronic devices. NIZO thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at 250, 350, 450, and 550 mJ/pulse laser energy, respectively. With the increase of laser energy, the films gradually change from an amorphous to an amorphous/crystalline state and the In 2 O 3 crystals have preferential growth in the (123) plane. The average transmittance of the film is higher than 80% in the visible range. When the laser energy is 250 mJ, the carrier mobility has the highest value of 14.43 cm 2 V −1 s −1 , and it decreases with the increase of laser energy. The possible reason for this phenomenon is given by electronic structure and crystallization. Based on the content of defect states and the emitted particle number, the carrier concentration of the films is analyzed. • The relative content of defects in the NIZO thin films was characterized by nondestructive and non-contact microwave photoconductivity decay (μ-PCD). • Based on the phase, electronic structure and defects, the Hall mobility variation with laser energy was studied. • Based on the source of the carriers and the relative content of the defect, the carrier concentration variation with laser energy was studied.