P-Type ZnO Films Made by Atomic Layer Deposition and Ion Implantation

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 14; no. 13; p. 1069
• Main Authors: Zhang, Guoxiu, Rebohle, Lars, Ganss, Fabian, Dawidowski, Wojciech, Guziewicz, Elzbieta, Koh, Jung-Hyuk, Helm, Manfred, Zhou, Shengqiang, Liu, Yufei, Prucnal, Slawomir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Ambience; Analysis; Antimony; atomic layer deposition; Atomic layer epitaxy; Atomic properties; Chemical vapor deposition; Conductivity; Defect annealing; Dielectric films; Doping; Electric properties; Electrical resistivity; Energy; flash lamp annealing; Flash lamps; Interstitials; Ion implantation; Methods; N-type semiconductors; Nitrogen; Optical properties; Optoelectronics; P-type semiconductors; p-type-doped ZnO; Phosphorus; Photonic band gaps; Point defects; rapid thermal annealing; Thin films; Wide bandgap semiconductors; Zinc oxide; Zinc oxides; Germany; atomic layer deposition; flash lamp annealing; rapid thermal annealing; ion implantation; p-type-doped ZnO
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano14131069

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide bandgap semiconductor that holds significant potential for various applications. However, most of the native point defects in ZnO like Zn interstitials typically cause an n-type conductivity. Consequently, achieving p-type doping in ZnO is challenging but crucial for comprehensive applications in the field of optoelectronics. In this work, we investigated the electrical and optical properties of ex situ doped p-type ZnO films. The p-type conductivity has been realized by ion implantation of group V elements followed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) for 60 s or flash lamp annealing (FLA) on the millisecond time scale in nitrogen or oxygen ambience. The phosphorus (P)-doped ZnO films exhibit stable p-type doping with a hole concentration in the range of 10 to 10 cm , while antimony (Sb) implantation produces only n-type layers independently of the annealing procedure. Microstructural studies of Sb-doped ZnO show the formation of metallic clusters after ms range annealing and SbZn-oxides after RTA.