Epitaxial growth of Sb-doped nonpolar a-plane ZnO thin films on r-plane sapphire substrates by RF magnetron sputtering

In this study, the epitaxial growth of Sb-doped nonpolar a  -plane (112¯0) ZnO thin films on r  -plane (11¯02) sapphire substrates was performed by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The influence of the sputter deposition conditions and Sb doping concentration on the microstructural and electrical properties of Sb-doped ZnO epitaxial films was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the Hall-effect measurement. The measurement of the XRD phi-scan indicated that the epitaxial relationship between the ZnO:Sb layer and sapphire substrate was 112¯0ZnO//(11¯02)Al2O3 and 11¯00ZnO//112¯0Al2O3. The out-of-plane a-axis lattice parameter of ZnO films was reduced monotonically with the increasing Sb doping level. The cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) observation confirmed the absence of any significant antimony oxide phase segregation across the thickness of the Sb-doped ZnO epitaxial film. However, the epitaxial quality of the films deteriorated as the level of Sb dopant increased. The electrical properties of ZnO:Sb film are closely correlated with post-annealing conditions and Sb doping concentrations.

► Sb-doped nonpolar a-plane ZnO layers were epitaxially grown on sapphire substrates.
► Crystallinity and electrical properties were studied upon growth condition and doping concentration.
► The out-of-plane lattice spacing of ZnO films reduces monotonically with increasing Sb doping level.
► The p-type conductivity of ZnO:Sb film is closely correlated with annealing condition and Sb doping level.