Realization of p-type conduction in (ZnO)1−x(AlN)x thin films grown by RF magnetron sputtering

A different approach for codoping in ZnO using AlN as dopant (codopant) has been attempted to realize p-ZnO by RF magnetron sputtering. The (ZnO)1−x(AlN)x [AlN codoped ZnO] films of different doping concentrations (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 mol%) grown on Si(1 0 0) substrates have been subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Hall measurements to investigate their structural and electrical properties, respectively. XRD results reveal that all the films are constituted in wurtzite structure with the preferential orientation of (0 0 2) diffraction plane. It has been observed that the c-axis lattice constant is higher than unstressed bulk value for 0.5 and 1 mol% AlN doped ZnO films which support the incorporation of N atoms into the film. The Hall measurements show that the (ZnO)1−x(AlN)x films with 0.5 and 1 mol% of AlN exhibit p-type conduction with the carrier concentration of 9.797 × 1018/cm3 and 2.415 × 1019/cm3, respectively. The grain size observed through XRD is comparable to that observed through FESEM. The incorporation of nitrogen into the film upon doping of AlN is confirmed by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS).