Enhancement of photoluminescence in Sr doped ZnO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis

Photoluminescence characteristics of strontium doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Sr) thin films grown by spray pyrolysis method were investigated. The ZnO:Sr films were highly transparent having polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure. A redshift of 130 meV in the optical band gap was observed owing to atomic size mismatch induced defect states and increase in the crystallite size in ZnO:Sr films. The enhancement of intensity of violet emission in room temperature photoluminescence by 250% is in correlation with the improved surface morphology at higher concentration of Sr in ZnO:Sr thin film. The observed increment in visible emissions is attributed to Sr induced oxygen vacancy related recombination in ZnO.