Influence of deposition temperature on structure and optical properties of spray pyrolyzed Zn0.97Nd0.03O thin films

Abstract

The addition of a suitable dopant to the host matrix can alter the structure and optical characteristics of the nanostructures. Here, we studied the influence of deposition temperature on the structural and optical properties of Zn0.97Nd0.03O thin film prepared on a glass substrate using the spray pyrolysis method. The structural study revealed that XRD peak intensity decreased as deposition temperature increased, and the prominent peak intensity shifted from the (101) plane to the (002) at higher temperatures. With increasing temperature, the estimated crystallite size reduced from 16.34 to 12.12 nm. The bandgap value decreased (3.24–3.07 eV) with an increase in the deposition temperature. The photoluminescence spectra contained the peaks corresponding to Deep Level Emissions (DLE) along with Near Bandedge Emission (NBE). Thus, our findings emphasize the important role of deposition temperature in controlling and adjusting the structural and optical features of ZnO nanostructures.