Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sol–gel prepared ZnO:Al thin films for heterojunction diodes

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Sol–gel method as a simple and low-cost approach is used to fabricate the heterostructures. Herein, Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films on p-Si subtrates are deposited via sol-gel method. AFM and SEM results reveal that the films have appreciably smooth surfaces. XRD results demonstrate that the films have highly oriented crystal structure, and the doping process is successfully performed. The analysis of I–V measurement characteristics unveils a nonideal diode behavior of AZO/Si heterojunctions. Considering the electrical properties, the device with AZO layer of 80 nm demonstrates a good rectifying behavior with rectification ratio of 926 at ± 4 V. The fabricated devices can be thought as diode for real applications. This investigation offers a paradigm for fabricating diodes from traditional semiconductor films.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. A. Turut, D.E. Yıldız, A. Karabulut, İ Orak, Electrical characteristics of atomic layer deposited Au/Ti/HfO2/n-GaAs MIS diodes in the wide temperature range. J. Mater. Sci. 31(10), 7839–7849 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-03322-w

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. D.E. Yildiz, H.H. Gullu, A. Sarilmaz, F. Ozel, A. Kocyigit, M. Yildirim, Dark and illuminated electrical characteristics of Si-based photodiode interlayered with CuCo5S8 nanocrystals. J. Mater. Sci. 31(2), 935–948 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-019-02603-3

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. H.H. Gullu, D.E. Yildiz, A. Kocyigit, M. Yıldırım, Electrical properties of Al/PCBM:ZnO/p-Si heterojunction for photodiode application. J. Alloys Compds. 827, 154279 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.154279

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. A. Yildiz, T. Serin, E. Öztürk, N. Serin, Barrier-controlled electron transport in Sn-doped ZnO polycrystalline thin films. Thin Solid Films 522, 90–94 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2012.09.006

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. G. Turgut, S. Duman, F.S. Özçelik, E. Sönmez, B. Gürbulak, An investigation of Zn/ZnO:Al/p-Si/Al heterojunction diode by sol–gel spin coating technique. J. Sol–Gel. Sci. Technol. 71(3), 589–596 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-014-3410-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. I.K. Er, T. Nurtayeva, M. Sbeta, A.O. Cagirtekin, S. Acar, A. Yildiz, Carbon monoxide gas sensing performance of ZnO:Al thin films prepared using different solvent–stabilizer combinations. J. Mater. Sci. 30(11), 10560–10570 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-019-01400-2

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. N.E. Koksal, M. Sbeta, A. Yildiz, GZO/Si photodiodes exhibiting high photocurrent-to-dark-current ratio. IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 66(5), 2238–2242 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1109/ted.2019.2903600

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. D.E. Yıldız, Electrical properties of Au–Cu/ZnO/p-Si diode fabricated by atomic layer deposition. J. Mater. Sci. 29(20), 17802–17808 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9889-z

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. S.D. Ponja, S. Sathasivam, I.P. Parkin, C.J. Carmalt, Highly conductive and transparent gallium doped zinc oxide thin films via chemical vapor deposition. Sci. Rep. 10(1), 638 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57532-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. O. Urper, O. Karacasu, H. Cimenoglu, N. Baydogan, Annealing ambient effect on electrical properties of ZnO:Al/p-Si heterojunctions. Superlatt. Microstruct. 125, 81–87 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spmi.2018.10.027

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. H. Bo, M.Z. Quan, X. Jing, Z. Lei, Z.N. Sheng, L. Feng, S. Cheng, S. Ling, Z.C. Yue, Y.Z. Shan, Y.Y. Ting, Characterization of AZO/p-Si heterojunction prepared by DC magnetron sputtering. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 12, 248–252 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2009.12.006

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. L. Shen, H.W. Du, H. Ding, J. Tang, Z.Q. Ma, Region-dependent behavior of I–V characteristics in n-ZnO:Al/p-Si contacts. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 13(5–6), 339–343 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2011.02.021

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. H. Mahdhi, J.L. Gauffier, K. Djessas, Z.B. Ayadi, Thickness dependence of properties Ga-doped ZnO thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering. J. Mater. Sci. 28(6), 5021–5028 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-016-6158-x

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. B. Sarma, D. Barman, B.K. Sarma, AZO (Al:ZnO) thin films with high figure of merit as stable indium free transparent conducting oxide. Appl. Surf. Sci. 479, 786–795 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.02.146

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. R.S. Reddy, Effect of film thickness on the structural morphological and optical properties of nanocrystalline ZnO films formed by RF magnetron sputtering. Adv. Mater. Lett. 3(3), 239–245 (2012). https://doi.org/10.5185/amlett.2012.3329

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. S. Ruzgar, M. Caglar, Fabrication and characterization of solution processed Al/Sn:ZnO/p-Si photodiodes. Mater. Sci. Semicond.Process. 115, 105076 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2020.105076

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. A. Samavati, H. Nur, A.F. Ismail, Z. Othaman, Radio frequency magnetron sputtered ZnO/SiO2/glass thin film: role of ZnO thickness on structural and optical properties. J. Alloy. Compd. 671, 170–176 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.02.099

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. R. Swanepoel, Determination of the thickness and optical constants of amorphous silicon. J. Phys. E 16(12), 1214–1222 (1983)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. A.E. Hamidi et al., Refractive index controlled by film morphology and free carrier density in undoped ZnO through sol–pH variation. Optik 158, 1139–1146 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2018.01.011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. M. Sbeta, A. Yildiz, Optical response enhancement of GZO/p-Si heterostructures via metal nanoparticles. Mater. Res. Express 6(8), 085018 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab1c82

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. N.E. Koksal, M. Sbeta, A. Atilgan, A. Yildiz, Al–Ga co-doped ZnO/Si heterojunction diodes. Phys. B 600, 412599 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physb.2020.412599

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Y.J. Acosta-Silva et al., Nanostructured CeO2 thin films prepared by the Sol–Gel dip-coating method with anomalous behavior of crystallite size and bandgap. J. Nanomater. 2019, 1–8 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/5413134

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. R.K. Pandey, K. Ghosh, S. Mishra, J.P. Bange, P.K. Bajpai, D.K. Gautam, Effect of film thickness on structural and optical properties of sol–gel spin coated aluminum doped zinc oxide (Al:ZnO) thin films. Mater. Res. Express 5(8), 086408 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/aad3a8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. L. Agarwal, S. Tripathi, High responsivity ZnO based p–n homojunction UV-photodetector with series Schottky barrier. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 35(6), 065001 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6641/ab7b0a

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. S.K. Singh, P. Hazra, Analysis of current transport mechanisms in sol–gel grown Si/ZnO heterojunction diodes in high temperature environment. Superlatt. Microstruct. 128, 48–55 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spmi.2019.01.013

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. K. Ozel, A. Atilgan, N.E. Koksal, A. Yildiz, A route towards enhanced UV photo-response characteristics of SnO2/p-Si based heterostructures by hydrothermally grown nanorods. J. Alloys Compds. 849, 156628 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.156628

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. E. Arslan, Y. Badali, M. Aalizadeh, Ş Altındal, E. Özbay, Current transport properties of (Au/Ni)/HfAlO3/n-Si metal–insulator–semiconductor junction. J. Phys. Chem. Solids 148, 1098758 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpcs.2020.109758

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. H.E. Lapa, A. Kökce, D.A. Aldemir, A.F. Özdemir, Ş Altındal, Effect of illumination on electrical parameters of Au/(P3DMTFT)/n-GaAs Schottky barrier diodes. Indian J. Phys. 94(12), 1901–1908 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12648-019-01644-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Ö. Bayraklı Sürücü, Characterization of GZO thin films fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering method and electrical properties of In/GZO/Si/Al diode. J. Mater. Sci. 30(21), 19270–19278 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-019-02286-w

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Y. Badali, Y. Azizian-Kalandaragh, İ Uslu, Ş Altindal, Investigation of the effect of different Bi2O3–x:PVA (x = Sm, Sn, Mo) thin insulator interface-layer materials on diode parameters. J. Mater. Sci. 31(10), 8033–8042 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-03343-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. A. Tataroğlu, Ş Altındal, Y. Azizian-Kalandaragh, Comparison of electrical properties of MS and MPS type diode in respect of (In2O3-PVP) interlayer. Phys. B 576, 411733 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physb.2019.411733

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. E. Arslan, Y. Badali, Ş Altındal, E. Özbay, Intersection behavior of the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the (Au/Ni)/HfAlO3/n-Si (MIS) structure depends on the lighting intensity. J. Mater. Sci. 31(16), 13167–13172 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-03868-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. N.E. Koksal, M. Sbeta, A. Yildiz, Ag nanoparticles-decorated Al-Ga co-doped ZnO based photodiodes. Optik 224, 165523 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2020.165523

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. T. Basu, M. Kumar, T. Som, Thickness-controlled photoresponsivity of ZnO:Al/Si heterostructures: role of junction barrier height. Mater. Lett. 135, 188–190 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2014.07.171

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. A. Alyamani et al., Photoresponse and photocapacitor properties of Au/AZO/p-Si/Al diode with AZO film prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. Appl. Phys. A 122(4), 297 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-016-9812-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. S.K. Cheung, N.W. Cheung, Extraction of Schottky diode parameters from forward current–voltage characteristics. Appl. Phys. Lett. 9(2), 85–87 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.97359

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Ö. Sevgili, M. Yıldırım, Y. Azizian-Kalandaragh, Ş Altındal, A comparison study regarding Al/p-Si and Al/(carbon nanofiber–PVP)/p-Si diodes: current/impedance–voltage (I/Z–V) characteristics. Appl. Phys. A 126(8), 1–9 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-020-03817-7

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. H.G. Çetinkaya, Ö. Sevgili, Ş Altındal, The fabrication of Al/p-Si (MS) type photodiode with (%2 ZnO-doped CuO) interfacial layer by sol gel method and their electrical characteristics. Phys. B 560, 91–96 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physb.2019.02.038

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. S. Demirezen, H.G. Çetinkaya, M. Kara, F. Yakuphanoğlu, Ş Altındal, Synthesis, electrical and photo-sensing characteristics of the Al/(PCBM/NiO: ZnO)/p-Si nanocomposite structures. Sens. Actuators A 317, 112449 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2020.112449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. S. Mridha, M. Dutta, D. Basak, Photoresponse of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction towards ultraviolet/visible lights: thickness dependent behavior. J. Mater. Sci. 20(1), 376–379 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-008-9628-y

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. N. Koteeswara Reddy, Q. Ahsanulhaq, J.H. Kim, Y.B. Hahn, Behavior of n-ZnO nanorods/p-Si heterojunction devices at higher temperatures. Appl. Phys. Lett. 92(4), 043127 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2839579

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. R.L. Anderson, Experiments on Ge–GaAs Heterojunctions. Solid State Electron. 5, 341–351 (1962)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The work is based on the O. F. G.’s Ms. Thesis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

    O. F. Goktas & O. Kaplan

  2. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

    N. E. Koksal

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

    A. Yildiz

Authors
  1. O. F. Goktas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. N. E. Koksal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. O. Kaplan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. Yildiz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. E. Koksal.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Goktas, O.F., Koksal, N.E., Kaplan, O. et al. Sol–gel prepared ZnO:Al thin films for heterojunction diodes. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 7791–7800 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-05498-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-05498-1

Search

Navigation