The microstructures and the electrical and optical properties of ZnO:N films prepared by thermal oxidation of Zn3N2 precursor

Samples of p-type ZnO:N films were prepared on glass substrates by thermal oxidation of Zn3N2 precursor, which was produced by reactive magnetron sputtering with a metallic zinc target in Ar/N2 working gas. The microstructures and the electrical and optical properties of the samples were systematically investigated as a function of the annealing temperature. The results indicate that the annealing temperature has strong effects on the conductivity and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the obtained ZnO:N films. With an annealing temperature of 500 ∘C in oxygen flux, ZnO:N samples show the best p-type characteristics. The doping mechanism and the doping efficiency are briefly discussed based on the experimental results.