MgZnO synthesis employing weak oxidants for accurate Mg incorporation control

MgZnO films with different Mg contents were synthesized on c-plane sapphire by metal organic chemical vapor deposition, using diethyl zinc (DEZn) and bis(cyclopentadienyl) magnesium (Cp2Mg) as Zn and Mg precursors, respectively. Tertiary butanol (t-BuOH) was used as a weak oxidant in order to enhance the accuracy of Mg incorporation when varying DEZn/Cp2Mg flow rates. As a result the Mg contents in the range of 1–9% were confirmed by time-of-flight elastic recoil detection analysis, which is known to be specifically sensitive to detect light elements. Thus, independently and accurately determined composition in the samples was correlated with structural and optical properties as measured by x-ray diffraction and photoluminescence.

► Weak oxidant—tertiary butanol used for accurate Mg incorporation in ZnO.
► ToF-ERDA employed for high-precision measurements of Mg content profiles.
► Stoichiometry in MgZnO correlated with structural and optical properties.