Improvement of thermal stability of p‐type ZnO:(Al,N) fabricated by oxidizing Zn3N2:Al thin films

Abstract

AbstractThe authors report the fabrication of p‐type ZnO thin films with improved thermal stability. The p‐type ZnO thin films were obtained by oxidizing Zn3N2:Al thin films in an oxygen ambient. Both Zn3N2:Al and Zn3N2 thin films were deposited on fused silica substrates at 100 °C by megnetron sputtering. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed that the ZnO thin films obtained from by oxiding Zn3N2:Al, have preferred (002) orientation. On the other hand, ZnO films obtained by oxidizing Zn3N2 are polycrystalline. The optical band gap of ZnO (3.294 eV) obtained by annealing Zn3N2:Al thin films is narrower than that of the ZnO (3.31 eV) obtained by annealing Zn3N2. P‐type ZnO films were formed by annealing Zn3N2:Al at temperatures above 600 °C. A maximum hole density of 1.4 x 1016 cm‐3 was obtained in a film annealed at 800 °C. In contrast, only n‐type ZnO can be produced from oxidizing Zn3N2. Our results indicate that the Al can stabilize the nitrogen acceptors in ZnO thin films. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)