Transparent conductive Nd-doped ZnO thin films

M Nistor (1) , E Millon (2) , C Cachoncinlle (2) , Wilfried Seiler (3) , N Jedrecy (4) , C Hebert (4) , J Perrière (4)

1 INFLPR - National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics
2 GREMI - Groupe de recherches sur l'énergétique des milieux ionisés
3 PIMM - Laboratoire Procédés et Ingénierie en Mécanique et Matériaux
4 INSP - Institut des Nanosciences de Paris

Transparent Nd-doped ZnO films with thickness in the range of 70 to 250 nm were grown by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) on c-cut sapphire substrates at various oxygen pressures and substrate temperatures. A wide range of optical and electrical properties of the films were obtained and correlated to the composition and crystalline structure. The Nd-doped ZnO films are smooth, dense, and display the wurtzite phase. Different epitaxial relationships between films and substrate as a function of growth pressure and substrate temperature were evidenced by asymmetric x-ray diffraction measurements. By varying PLD growth conditions, the films can be tuned to have either metallic or semiconductor characteristics, with good optical transmittance in the visible range. Moreover, a low-temperature metal-insulator transition may be observed in Nd-doped ZnO films grown under low oxygen pressure. Resistivities as low as 6 × 10−4 Ω cm and 90% optical transmittance in the visible range and different near-infrared transmittance are obtained with approximately 1.0–1.5 at.% Nd doping and growth temperature of approximately 500 °C.

Mots clés: zinc oxide; pulsed laser deposition; thin films; optical properties; metal-insulator transition

Domaines: Matériaux; Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

M Nistor, E Millon, C Cachoncinlle, Wilfried Seiler, N Jedrecy, et al.. Transparent conductive Nd-doped ZnO thin films. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2015, 48 (19), 195103 (9pp). ⟨10.1088/0022-3727/48/19/195103⟩. ⟨hal-01218114⟩