Structural and optical properties of Mn-doped ZnO nanocrystalline thin films with the different dopant concentrations

Abstract

The transparent nanocrystalline thin films of undoped zinc oxide and Mn-doped (Zn1−xMnxO) have been deposited on glass substrates via the sol–gel technique using zinc acetate dehydrate and manganese chloride as precursor. The as-deposited films with the different manganese compositions in the range of 2.5–20at% were pre-heated at 100°C for 1h and 200°C for 2h, respectively, and then crystallized in air at 560°C for 2h. The structural properties and morphologies of the undoped and doped ZnO thin films have been investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to examine the morphology and microstructure of the thin films. Optical properties of the thin films were determined by photoluminescence (PL) and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The analyzed results indicates that the obtained films are of good crystal quality and have smooth surfaces, which have a pure hexagonal wurtzite ZnO structure without any Mn related phases. Room temperature photoluminescence is observed for the ZnO and Mn-doped ZnO thin films.