Screen printing coating of (ZnO)0.8(CdO)0.2 material for optoelectronic applications

Abstract

Here we report X-ray response and optical properties of composite (ZnO)0.8(CdO)0.2 thick film deposited by simple, easy and low cost screen printing technique on glass substrates followed by sintering at 500 °C. X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the polycrystalline structure of the film having hexagonal and cubic structures with preferred orientations of grains along (101) plane for ZnO and (111) plane for CdO. While Raman spectra exhibited strong peaks of E2 (high) phonon and overtone of surface phonon modes at 431 cm−1 and 1145 cm−1 respectively. The absorption coefficient and band gap which are essential for the optoelectronic applications were determined by using UV–visible absorbance data. Photoluminescence spectroscopy of the (ZnO)0.8(CdO)0.2 films showed a strong emission peak at 407 nm near the band edge along with a weak green–yellow emission peak spanning the wavelength range from 450 to 500 nm. The Arrhenius plot of DC conductivity shows semiconductor nature with existing activation energy of about 0.33 eV. The film thickness was measured by profilometry, obtaining a thickness of around 3 µm.