Abstract
Hexagonal wurtzite zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited at substrate temperatures from 300 to 500 °C with surfactant of ammonia solution. The effect of ammonia on the structural, surface morphology, compositional, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films was studied. X-ray diffraction shows that the all films are polycrystalline in nature and have a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a high preferential orientation (002) plane for ammonia solution. High-resolution SEM studies reveal the formation of ZnO films consisting of nano-pyramids with uniformly distributed grains over the entire surface of the substrates. Photoluminescence studies indicate the presence of two emission peaks: (a) a sharp ultra-violet near band edge ∼392 nm, (b) a sharp visible deep-level green emission peak ∼564 nm. The optical properties show that the direct band gap energy values increase with increasing substrate temperatures.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. Ashour, M. A. Kaid, N. Z. El-sayed, and A. A. Ibrahim, Appl. Surf. Sci. 252, 7844 (2006).
M. T. Mohammad, A. A. Hashim, and M. H. Al-Maamory, Mater. Chem. Phys. 99, 382 (2006).
A. Chakraborty, T. Mondal, S. K. Bera, S. K. Sen, R. Ghosh, and G. K. Paul, Mater. Chem. Phys. 112, 162 (2008).
A. Bougrine, M. Addou, A. Kachouane, J. C. Bernede, and M. Morsli, Mater. Chem. Phys. 91, 247 (2005).
I. Shin and C. X. Qui, JPN. J. Appl. Phys. 58, 2400 (1985).
H. Kim, J. S. Horwitz, S. B. Qsdri, and D. B. Chrisey, Thin Solid Films 420–421, 107 (2002).
E. Lopez-Ponce, J. L. Costa-Kramer, M. S. Martin-Gonzalez, F. Briones, J. F. Fernandez, A. C. Caballero, M. Villegas, and J. De Frutos, Phys. State. Sol. A 203, 1383 (2006).
S. Venkataraj, S. Hishita, Y. Adachi, I. Sakaguchi, K. Matsumoto, N. Saito, H. Haneda, and N. Ohashi, J. Electrochem. Soc. 156, H424 (2009).
H.-J.-K. Takafumi-Yoa, Y. Chen, and S.-K. Hong, JPN. J. Appl. Phys 92, 4354 (2002).
S. Y. Bae, C. W. Na, J. H. Kang, and J. H. Park, J. Phys. Chem. B 109, 2526 (2005).
M. Sahal, B. Hartiti, A. Ridah, M. Mollar, and B. Mari, Microelectr. J. 39, 1425 (2008).
Q. Yu, W. Fu, C. Yu, H. Yang, R. Wei, Y. Sui, S. Liu, Z. Liu, M. Li, G. Wang, C. Shao, Y. Liu, and G. Zou, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 40, 5592 (2007).
K. Yoshino, S. Oyama, M. Kato, M. Oshima, M. Yoneta, and T. Ikari, Journal of Physics: Conference Series 100, 082019 (2008).
M. Caglar, Y. Caglar, and S. Ilican, Phys. Stat. Sol. C 4, 1337 (2007).
T. P. Rao, M. C. S. Kumar, A. Safarulla, V. Ganesan, S. R. Barman, and C. Sanjeeviraja, Physica B 450, 2226 (2010).
R. Ayouchi, D. Leinen, F. Martin, M. Gabas, E. Dalchiele, and J. R. Ramos-Barrabo, Thin Solid Films 426, 68 (2003).
S. Golshahi, S. M. Rozati, R. Martins, and E. Fortunato, Thin Solid Films 518, 1149 (2009).
T. Prasada Rao and M. C. Santhoshkumar, Appl. Surf. Sci. 255, 7212 (2009).
N. Kavasoglu and A. S. Kavasoglu, Physica B 403, 2807 (2008).
I. Stambolova, V. Blaskov, M. Shipochka, S. Vassilev, C. Dushkin, and Y. Dimitriev, Mater. Chem. Phys. 121, 447 (2010).
R. Mariappan, M. Ragavendar, and V. Ponnuswamy, J. Alloys Comps. 509, 7337 (2011).
T. Prasada Rao and M. C. Santhoshkumar, Appl. Surf. Sci. 255, 4579 (2009).
P. M. R. Kumar, K. P. Vijayakumar, and C. S. Kartha, J. Mater. Sci. 42, 2598 (2007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mariappan, R., Ponnuswamy, V. & Ragavendar, M. Effect of ammonia solution on properties of sprayed ZnO thin films consisting of nano-pyramids. Met. Mater. Int. 19, 983–990 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12540-013-5010-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12540-013-5010-6