p-Type conduction in phosphorus-doped ZnO thin films by MOCVD and thermal activation of the dopant

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 252; no. 22; pp. 7953 - 7956
• Main Authors: Miao, Yan, Ye, Zhizhen, Xu, Weizhong, Chen, Fugang, Zhou, Xincui, Zhao, Binghui, Zhu, Liping, Lu, Jianguo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.09.2006; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Defects and impurities in crystals; microstructure; Doping; Doping and impurity implantation in iii-v and ii-vi semiconductors; Electrical properties of specific thin films; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; Ii-vi semiconductors; Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of specific thin films; p-Type conduction; Physics; Semiconducting II–VI materials; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Zinc compounds; 78.66.H; Zinc compounds; Semiconducting II–VI materials; p-Type conduction; Doping; Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition; 61.72.V; 72.80.E; 73.61.G; Annealing; 61.72.V; 72.80.E; 73.61.G; 78.66.H; Inorganic compounds; Electrical conductivity; Hole density; Transition element compounds; p-Type conduction; Doping; Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition; Zinc compounds; Semiconducting II-VI materials; Doped materials; Phosphorus additions; MOCVD; Film growth; Thin films; Zinc oxides; p type semiconductor; Thermal activation; SIMS
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2005.10.001

Phosphorus-doped p-type ZnO thin films have been realized by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The conduction type of ZnO films is greatly dependent on the growth temperature. ZnO films have the lowest resistivity of 11.3 Ωcm and the highest hole concentration of 8.84 × 10 18 cm −3 at 420 °C. When the growth temperature is higher than 440 °C, p-type ZnO films cannot be achieved. All the films exhibited p-type conduction after annealing, and the electrical properties were improved comparing with the as-grown samples. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) test proved that phosphorus (P) has been incorporated into ZnO.