Long Electrical Stability on Dual Acceptor p-Type ZnO:Ag,N Thin Films

• Published in: Micromachines (Basel) Vol. 15; no. 6; p. 800
• Main Authors: Avelar-Muñoz, Fernando, Gómez-Rosales, Roberto, Ortiz-Hernández, Arturo Agustín, Durán-Muñoz, Héctor, Berumen-Torres, Javier Alejandro, Vagas-Téllez, Jorge Alberto, Tototzintle-Huitle, Hugo, Méndez-García, Víctor Hugo, Araiza, José de Jesús, Ortega-Sigala, José Juan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Ag-N doping ZnO; Annealing; Dielectric films; dual doped ZnO; Electric properties; Electrical properties; Electrical resistivity; Electron mobility; Hall effect; high hole concentration; Nitrogen; Optoelectronic devices; Radiation; Semiconductors; Spectrum analysis; Stability analysis; stable p-type ZnO; Thin films; Wurtzite; Zinc oxide; Mexico; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; France
• ISSN: 2072-666X; 2072-666X
• DOI: 10.3390/mi15060800

p-type Ag-N dual acceptor doped ZnO thin films with long electrical stability were deposited by DC magnetron reactive co-sputtering technique. After deposition, the films were annealed at 400 °C for one hour in a nitrogen-controlled atmosphere. The deposited films were amorphous. However, after annealing, they crystallize in the typical hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO. The Ag-N dual acceptors were incorporated substitutionally in the structure of zinc oxide, and achieving that; the three samples presented the p-type conductivity in the ZnO. Initial electrical properties showed a low resistivity of from 1 to 10−3 Ω·cm, Hall mobility of tens cm2/V·s, and a hole concentration from 1017 to 1019 cm−3. The electrical stability analysis reveals that the p-type conductivity of the ZnO:Ag,N films is very stable and does not revert to n-type, even after 36 months of aging. These results reveal the feasibility of using these films for applications in short-wavelength or transparent optoelectronic devices.