MgZnO Films Research Articles

Blue Luminescence of MgZnO and CdZnO Films Deposited at Low Temperatures

Blue photoluminescence was successfully generated from zinc oxide by doping magnesium or cadmium. and films were deposited on glass substrates by a spin-on/pyrolysis with low heating temperatures in and air, respectively. Structural analysis revealed that all the films were crystallized in the wurtzite-type structure. The -axis length of was changed by the doping, indicating that Mg and Cd could be incorporated into the lattice through the present synthetic method. This incorporation was also supported by the occurrence of blue- and redshift of the optical bandgap by Mg and Cd doping, respectively. In case of , the bandgap was increased up to , resulting in a deep-level blue luminescence centered at (corresponding to ) upon irradiation with UV light. This might be a color-tuning of the well-known green emissions from oxygen defect centers. In photoluminescence spectra of , blue emission bands centered at appeared by the Cd doping, possibly arising from the increased emissive defect centers related to interstitial zinc atoms. We could therefore produce two kinds of blue emissions of different origin from .

High-temperature growth and in-situ annealing of MgZnO thin films by RF sputtering

We report the effect of growth temperature and annealing on microstructural, elemental and emission properties of as-grown and in-situ annealed MgZnO thin films, containing ∼ 10 at. % Mg, grown at high temperature by RF sputtering. Microstructural analysis carried out by TEM reveals formation of thin oxide layer with increased layer thickness on growth temperature, in the interface between Si substrate and MgZnO thin film. Irrespective of growth temperature, increase in Mg mole fraction with increase in thickness of MgZnO thin film is observed from EDX and AES spectroscopy, and a maximum of 14 at. % Mg is observed at 800 °C. The photoluminescence investigation shows blue shift of 104 meV in MgZnO film grown at 800 °C, compared to the film grown at 600 °C, which is due to the enhancement of the Mg incorporation at higher temperature. In addition, annealing at the growth temperature enhanced the intensity ratio of the UV/deep level emission and increased the grain size. Thermal treatment in a vacuum improved the emission efficiency and changed the origin of the point defects.

Optical and structural properties of MgZnO/ZnO hetero- and double heterostructures grown by pulsed laser deposition

MgZnO thin films, MgZnO/ZnO heterostructures (HS) and double heterostructures (DHS) have been prepared on a-plane sapphire substrates by means of pulsed laser deposition (PLD). A linear blueshift of the MgZnO emission with increasing Mg content is observed in photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) at 2 K. Cathodoluminescence measurements verify the spatial homogeneity of the emission properties of the MgZnO films. The film roughness is evaluated from atomic force microscopy scans. In MgZnO/ZnO HS the ZnO grows on all appearing MgZnO facets. PL investigations of such PLD-grown heterostructures show the high optical quality of thin ZnO films (d≤100 nm) grown on MgZnO. Capping those structures with a thin MgZnO layer further improves their luminescence intensity and enhances the emission of free-exciton luminescence from the ZnO layers. MgZnO/ZnO/MgZnO DHS with nominal ZnO layer thicknesses of dnom≤6 nm show a clear intensification of the ZnO PL. Temperature dependent PL and transmission measurements between 4.4 and 300 K prove the dominating emission to be due to the recombination of excitons localized in the ZnO. At 2 K, due to confinement effects, their emission energy is blueshifted up to 51 meV compared to free excitons in bulk ZnO.

Formation of p-type MgZnO by nitrogen doping

A wurtzite N-doped MgZnO film with 20at.% Mg (MgZnO:N) was grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on c-plane sapphire using radical NO as oxygen source and nitrogen dopant. The as-grown MgZnO:N film behaves n-type conduction at room temperature, but transforms into p-type conduction after annealed for 1h at 600°C in an O2 flow. The p-type MgZnO:N has a hole concentration of 6.1×1017cm−3 and a mobility of 6.42cm2∕Vs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurement indicates that substitution of N for O site is in forms of N atom (N)O and N molecule (N2)O for the as-grown MgZnO:N, but almost only in a form of (N)O for the annealed MgZnO:N. The mechanism of the conduction-type transition induced by annealing is discussed in the present work.

Realization of Mg(x=0.15)Zn(1−x=0.85)O-based metal-semiconductor-metal UV detector on quartz and sapphire

In this article we present the growth of hexagonal phase MgZnO on nonconventional substrates such as quartz and on sapphire for comparison of the device property. We are reporting the realization of MgZnO-based UV detector on quartz by the pulsed laser deposition technique. MgZnO films are characterized by x-ray diffraction, UV-visible spectroscopy, and Rutherford backscattering-channeling techniques. The morphology of the films is studied by atomic force microscopy. The metal-semiconductor-metal device was fabricated on the MgZnO film to study the device photoresponse under proper UV irradiation.

Optical and structural properties of epitaxial MgxZn1−xO alloys

The optical and structural properties of high-quality single-crystal epitaxial MgZnO films deposited by pulsed-laser deposition were studied. In films with up to ∼36 at. % Mg incorporation, we have observed intense ultraviolet band edge photoluminescence at room temperature and 77 K. The highly efficient photoluminescence is indicative of the excitonic nature of the material. Transmission spectroscopy was used to show that the excitonic structure of the alloys was clearly visible at room temperature. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/ion channeling were used to verify the epitaxial single-crystal quality of the films and characterize the defect content. Post-deposition annealing in oxygen was found to reduce the number of defects and to improve the optical properties of the films. These results indicate that MgZnO alloys have potential applications in a variety of optoelectronic devices.

Structural and Optical Property Investigations on Mg-Alloying in Epitaxial Zinc Oxide Films on Sapphire

AbstractWe have synthesized single-crystal epitaxial MgZnO films by pulsed-laser deposition. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/ion channeling were used to characterize the microstructure, defect content, composition and epitaxial single-crystal quality of the films. In these films with up to ∼ 34 atomic percent Mg incorporation, an intense ultraviolet band edge photoluminescence at room temperature and 77 K was observed. The highly efficient photoluminescence is indicative of the excitonic nature of the material. Transmission spectroscopy revealed that the excitonic structure of the alloys was clearly visible at room temperature. Post-deposition annealing in oxygen reduced the number of defects and improved the optical properties of the films. The potential applications of MgZnO alloys in a variety of optoelectronic devices are discussed.