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Structural, morphological, optical, and electrical studies of Tb-doped ZnO micropods elaborated by chemical bath deposition on a p-Si substrate

Applied Physics A volume 128, Article number: 559 (2022) Cite this article

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Abstract

Terbium-doped zinc oxide microstructures with a hexagonal wurtzite structure were synthesized by a chemical bath deposition (CBD) method on p-type (100) silicon. The effects of the amount of Tb incorporated and heat treatment on the physical properties were explored. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the simultaneous insertion of Tb3+ and Tb4+ into the ZnO matrix. An increase in the Tb concentration up to 4.21% with annealing temperature is shown by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) measurements. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show the formation of micropod ZnO with a perfectly smooth hexagonal sidewall shape. This structure of doped ZnO remained stable, although distortion of the distance and tetrahedral bonds was confirmed by XRD analysis. The luminescence spectra of the doped micropods did not show the Tb ion emission lines, proving that no energy transfer from the host to the rare-earth ions occurred. However, the visible-band emission was deformed, and the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) color emission shifted to green as the concentration of Tb increased. Near white-light emission was observed for Tb-doped ZnO micropods with concentrations higher than 1.4% and annealed at 300 °C. The color emission of the Tb-doped ZnO micropods can be tuned by varying the concentrations of Tb in the ZnO host and/or the annealing temperature, which is an interesting aspect for solid-state lighting applications. The dependence of electrical parameters on dopant concentration and annealing temperature was explored by current-–voltage (I–V) measurements, which showed a small change in barrier height with increasing dopant concentration.

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Acknowledgements

The authors take this opportunity to thank the Department of Physics, College of Science at Al Zulfi, Majmaah University, specifically Dr. Ibrahim Shaarany, for the helpful technical assistance with equipment facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, College of Science, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia

    Nouf Ahmed Althumairi & Afif Fouzri

  2. Basic and Applied Scientific Research Center, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia

    Nouf Ahmed Althumairi, Irshad Baig & Afif Fouzri

  3. Department of Biology, College of Education, Majmaah University, P.O. Box 66, Al Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia

    Nouf Ahmed Althumairi

  4. Department of Basic Engineering Sciences, College of Engineering, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia

    Tarek Said Kayed

  5. Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Abdelkarim Mekki

  6. Interdisciplinary Research Center for Advanced Materials, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Abdelkarim Mekki

  7. Groupe d’Etude de la Matière Condensée (GEMAC), CNRS, Université de Versailles-St Quentin en Yvelines, Université Paris-Saclay, 45 Avenue des Etats-Unis, 78035, Versailles, France

    Alain Lusson & Vincent Sallet

  8. Department of Physics, College of Science, Majmaah University, Al Zulfi, 11932, Saudi Arabia

    Abdul Majid

  9. Department of Biophysics, Institute for Research and Medical Consultations (IRMC), Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, 31441, Saudi Arabia

    Sultan Akhtar

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  1. Nouf Ahmed Althumairi
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  2. Irshad Baig
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Althumairi, N.A., Baig, I., Kayed, T.S. et al. Structural, morphological, optical, and electrical studies of Tb-doped ZnO micropods elaborated by chemical bath deposition on a p-Si substrate. Appl. Phys. A 128, 559 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-022-05701-y

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Keywords

  • Tb-doped ZnO micropods
  • Chemical bath deposition
  • XPS analysis
  • Photoluminescence
  • CIE Chromaticity
  • I-V measurement