Influence of illumination intensity on the electrical characteristics and photoresponsivity of the Ag/ZnO Schottky diodes

• Ag/ZnO Schottky diodes were fabricated.
• The electrical parameters of the diodes were obtained and analyzed.
• The electrical properties under UV illuminations were discussed.

In this article, the ZnO thin films were grown by RF-magnetron sputtering on ITO glass substrates. The Schottky diodes with the configuration of Ag/ZnO/ITO have been fabricated and it has been observed that the diodes exhibit a good rectification. The structural and optical properties of the ZnO films were investigated by X-ray diffractometry and spectrophotometry. The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the Ag/ZnO diode were measured under various illuminations. We use the forward bias current–voltage measurements to determine the electrical parameters such as ideality factor, barrier height and series resistance of the diode. The Ag/ZnO Schottky diode exhibits a non-ideal behavior due to the interfacial layer, the interface states and the series resistance. It is found that the barrier height and ideality factor values are strong functions of illumination intensity. The results show that the ideality factor and the barrier height decrease with increasing illumination intensity. The values of Rs obtained from Cheung and Norde methods are decreased with increasing illumination intensity. Photoresponse characteristics of the diode have been analyzed and it is clear that the diode shows a fast response. It is evaluated that the prepared diodes can be used as optoelectronic devices.