Growth of p-type Ag-doped ZnO by rf sputter deposition

Abstract

The growth of thin films of Ag-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) (ZnO:Ag) having p-type conductivity using radio frequency (rf) magnetron co-sputter deposition without any post-deposition annealing has been investigated. The thin films of ZnO:Ag were deposited on n-type Si substrates using a composite ZnO/Ag target (97%/3%) in argon plasma at different substrate temperatures of 300 °C, 375 °C and 600 °C. The deposited films were characterized by Hall measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) techniques. Hall measurements show that the films deposited at substrate temperatures of 300 °C and 375 °C were n-type ZnO films and those deposited at a substrate temperature of 600 °C were p-type ZnO ones with hole concentration in the range (1.1–4.6) × 10+18/cm3. For the p-type ZnO thin films, the XRD analyses indicate substitution of Ag+ for Zn2+ in the films. FE-SEM backscattered electro...