Aging effects of the precursor solutions on the properties of spin coated Ga-doped ZnO thin films

Journal Article · Wed Jun 24 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4917971· OSTI ID:22490427

Dharmaprakash, S. M. ^[1]

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1. Department of Studies in Physics, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri-574199 (India)

In this study, gallium doped zinc oxide thin films (GZO) were grown on a glass substrate by a simple sol-gel process and spin coating technique using zinc acetate and gallium nitrate (3at%) as precursors for Zn and Ga ions respectively. The effects of aging time of the precursor solution on the structural and optical properties of the GZO films were investigated. The surface morphology, grain size, film thickness and optical properties of the GZO films were found to depend directly on the sol aging time. XRD studies reveal that the films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal wurtzite structure and show the c-axis grain orientation. Optical transmittance spectra of all the films exhibited transmittance higher than about 82% within the visible wavelength region. A sharp fundamental absorption edge with a slight blue shifting was observed with an increase in sol aging time which can be explained by Burstein-Moss effect. The result indicates that an appropriate aging time of the sol is important for the improvement of the structural and optical properties of GZO thin films derived from sol-gel method.

• OSTI ID: 22490427
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1665, Issue 1; Conference: 59. DAE solid state physics symposium 2014, Tamilnadu (India), 16-20 Dec 2014; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ABSORPTION
ACETATES
AGING
DOPED MATERIALS
GALLIUM
GALLIUM IONS
GALLIUM NITRATES
GLASS
GRAIN ORIENTATION
GRAIN SIZE
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
POLYCRYSTALS
PRECURSOR
SOL-GEL PROCESS
SPIN-ON COATING
SUBSTRATES
SURFACES
THIN FILMS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
ZINC OXIDES