Fabrication and characterization of NiO/ZnO/ITO p–i–n heterostructure

Transparent oxide semiconductors (TOSs) are promising materials for a variety of optoelectronic applications such as UV detectors. While several TOS-based p–n and p–i–n diodes have been recently reported, the high reverse dark current still poses a major issue. In this work, we report on a NiO/ZnO/ITO p–i–n heterostructure with reduced dark current level suitable for practical applications. Ion beam-assisted e-beam evaporation was used to deposit both p-type NiO and intrinsic ZnO layers, while a conventional sputtering system was used to prepare the ITO layer. Samples with sputtered ZnO layer were also fabricated for comparison. The diodes demonstrated clear rectifying I–V characteristics with a current rectification ratio up to 104 at bias voltages of ± 1 V. The lowest level of reverse dark current (∼ 10 nA/cm2 at − 5 V) is observed in samples with ZnO deposited by ion beam-assisted e-beam evaporation. In comparison, diodes with sputtered ZnO layer show two orders of magnitude higher dark current. Analysis of the quasi-static J–V characteristics, including time dependence behavior, shows that the dark current can be attributed to thermal generation of charge carriers via deep defects states in the ZnO layer and charge injection from the contacts. Electrical and optical properties of the TOS films are presented and discussed along with deposition conditions and device performance.