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Determination of the critical carrier concentration for the metal–insulator transition in Ga-doped ZnO

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Abstract

Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films with different Ga contents (1, 2, 4, 3, and 5 at.%) were successfully deposited on glass substrates using a spin-coating process. The temperature dependent electrical conductivity and room-temperature Hall effect measurements were performed for the films. The variation of electrical conductivity with Ga content was well explained by considering the change in the inelastic diffusion length of electrons. The critical value of carrier concentration for the metal–insulator transition was estimated as 1.77 × 1018 cm−3 for GZO. The critical value of Ga content, where Ga as a donor source becomes ineffective, on the order of 5.25 at.% was obtained.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University BAP under Project Number 4042.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

    M. Sbeta & A. Yildiz

  2. Department of Physics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    T. Serin

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  1. M. Sbeta
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  2. T. Serin
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  3. A. Yildiz
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Correspondence to M. Sbeta.

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Sbeta, M., Serin, T. & Yildiz, A. Determination of the critical carrier concentration for the metal–insulator transition in Ga-doped ZnO. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 14111–14115 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9543-9

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