Structural, optical and electrical properties of Sb-doped ZnO/ZnO homojunction thin film structures prepared by sol-gel based coating process under nitrogen annealing atmosphere

Abstract

This investigation focuses on structural, optical and electrical properties of Sb-doped/undoped ZnO double layer structure annealed in nitrogen atmosphere. The double layer film was prepared by sol-gel spin coating technique onto ITO substrate then annealed in nitrogen atmosphere. The crystal structure demonstrates hexagonal ZnO without phase impurity. The deterioration in the crystal structure due to Sb is incorporated in ZnO lattice and nitrogen annealing atmosphere and the decrease in diffraction intensity due to the different thickness of the ZnO film. The existence of Sb atom in the doped ZnO film is confirmed by depth profile measurement. The transmittance spectra exhibit high transparency with interference fringe and the photoluminescence spectrum shows the near-band-edge emission of ZnO without any emission in the visible region. The electrical properties demonstrate diode characteristics and photocurrent under dark and UV irradiation, respectively.