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Probing the effect of nitrogen gas on electrical conduction phenomena of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis

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Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and Cu-doped ZnO (CZO) thin films were prepared on borosilicate glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique. The X-ray diffraction study revealed that Cu doping caused a reduction in crystallite size. AFM study showed an increase in roughness with doping. This is attributed to the aggregation of particles to form clusters. From transmission electron microscopy analysis, the particle size is measured to be in the range 30–65 nm (average particle size 48 nm) for undoped ZnO, whereas it is in the range 24–56 nm (average particle size 40 nm) for CZO film. The electrical resistivity of the thin films was investigated in the presence of air as well as N2 mixed air at different temperatures in the range 30–270 °C. The change in resistivity properties was explained on the basis of conduction phenomena within the grain along with the grain boundaries as well as Cu- and N2-induced defect states. The thermal activation energy of ZnO was found to be in the range 0.04–0.7 eV and dependent on Cu doping and N2 level in air.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Director, IMMT, Bhubaneswar for his kind permission to publish this work. The authors also thank Mr. Debadutta Sahu for his help in recording the SEM images.

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  1. Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Bhubaneswar, 751013, India

    Debadhyan Behera, Jagannath Panigrahi & Bhabani S. Acharya

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  1. Debadhyan Behera
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  2. Jagannath Panigrahi
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  3. Bhabani S. Acharya
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Correspondence to Debadhyan Behera.

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Behera, D., Panigrahi, J. & Acharya, B.S. Probing the effect of nitrogen gas on electrical conduction phenomena of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis. Ionics 17, 741–749 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-011-0564-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-011-0564-0

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