Structural and optical characterization of cobalt-doped zinc oxide thin films deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis

Abstract

In our experimental pure and cobalt (Co) doped Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film were prepared onto glass substrate chemical spray pyrolysis technique at 400 oC, X-ray diffraction, Atomic force microscope and optical properties were all investigated for each prepared films. Nanocrystalline films with hexagonal structure and strong (100) and (002) preferred orientation were obtained. The maximum value of average grain size is (15.7) nm with 6% Co-doping concentration. The optical transmission spectra have shown that both pure and doped ZnO films were transparent in UV-Vis wavelength region. The energy band gap of 0% Co is about 3.28 eV and decrease to 3.2 eV after 4% doping. The excellent-estimated structure, the optical results are accomplished in doped ZnO film with (4 and 6) % Co.