Phase-coherent electron transport in (Zn, Al)Ox thin films grown by atomic layer deposition

Abstract

A clear signature of disorder induced quantum-interference phenomena leading to phase-coherent electron transport was observed in (Zn, Al)Ox thin films grown by atomic layer deposition. The degree of static-disorder was tuned by varying the Al concentration through periodic incorporation of Al2O3 sub-monolayer in ZnO. All the films showed small negative magnetoresistance due to magnetic field suppressed weak-localization effect. The temperature dependence of phase-coherence length (lφ∝T−3/4), as extracted from the magnetoresistance measurements, indicated electron-electron scattering as the dominant dephasing mechanism. The persistence of quantum-interference at relatively higher temperatures up to 200 K is promising for the realization of ZnO based phase-coherent electron transport devices.