Effects of Mn doping on electrical properties of ZnO thin films

Abstract

In this paper, we have investigated the effect of Mn doping on the electrical properties of ZnO thin films. ZnO thin films with different amounts of Mn concentrations (0, 5, 10 and 15 mol.%) were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique. The crystal structure was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. XRD patterns showed that all the samples were crystallized in wurtzite structure while a decrease in crystallinity and switch in preferential orientations were observed in Mn-doped thin films comparing to undoped ZnO. The element composition of all thin films was detected by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The surface morphology of the films was investigated using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and optical properties were studied using UV-vis spectroscopy. UV-vis study revealed that the band gap blueshifts with the increase in Mn content and [Formula: see text] increases with the increase in Mn concentration. The resistivity and activation energy were measured at room temperature and ranging from 373 K to 573 K. Comparing to undoped ZnO thin film, the resistivity of Mn-doped ZnO films increased because of different parameters such as increasing barrier height energy and reducing the oxygen deficiency.