Abstract
Structural, optical and electrical properties of (ytterbium/terbium) co-doped ZnO thin films deposited on glass substrates using the spray pyrolysis method were investigated. The films exhibited the hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferential orientation along (002) direction. No secondary phase was observed in the X-ray diffraction detection limit. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was performed and root means square roughness (RMS) of our samples decreased with terbium content. Photoluminescence measurements showed a luminescence band at 980 nm which is characteristic of Yb3+ transition between the electronic levels 2F5/2 to 2F7/2. This is experimental evidence for an efficient energy transfer from the ZnO matrix to Yb. Hall Effect measurements gave a low electrical resistivity value around 6.0 × 10−3 Ω.cm. Such characteristics make these films of interest to photovoltaic devices.
Highlights
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a type II-VI transparent semiconductor compound with n-type natural conductivity, which is ensured by the existence of "defects" related to interstitial zinc atoms and oxygen vacancies
No rare earth dopant segregation is detected by x-ray diffraction (XRD) since no characteristic peak of a terbium or ytterbium oxide phase was seen in the XRD diagram
We observed that the introduction of both ytterbium and terbium results in the growth of both (100)/(002) and (101)/(002) peak intensity ratios relative to the undoped layer, indicating that the incorporation of Yb and Tb as elemental dopants slightly2019, affects thePEER
Summary
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a type II-VI transparent semiconductor compound with n-type natural conductivity, which is ensured by the existence of "defects" related to interstitial zinc atoms and oxygen vacancies. The rare earth elements are characterized by their rich energy levels and long-lived excited states and temperature-independent luminescence in both infrared and visible light ranges [18,19] Their optical properties and their 4f shell transitions enhance the optical properties of ZnO films [20]. ZnO thin films prepared using the spray pyrolysis technique because of its simplicity, low cost, easy to add doping materials, and the possibility of varying the film luminescent properties by changing the composition of starting solution It is promising for high rate and mass production capability of uniform large area coatings in solar cell applications and optoelectronic devices [23,24]. The samples were characterized by various techniques to assess the effect of co-doping on the structural, optical and electrical properties
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