Influence of Ag-S codoping on silver chemical states and stable p-type conduction behavior of the ZnO films

Abstract The effects of Ag–S codoping on chemical states of Ag doped in ZnO, as well as electrical and optical properties of the ZnO film were investigated by comparative study of undoped ZnO, Ag-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ag) and Ag–S codoped ZnO (ZnO:(Ag, S)) films. It was found that the Ag occupied the Zn site and showed only positive univalence ( Ag Zn 1 + ) in the ZnO:(Ag, S). Compared to the ZnO:Ag, the solid solubility of the Ag Zn 1 + is greatly enhanced in the ZnO: (Ag, S) with incorporation of S. Stable p-type conduction was observed and proved further in the ZnO:(Ag, S) films. Low temperature photoluminescence measurement for the ZnO:(Ag, S) indicated that there were two kinds of acceptors of Ag Zn 1 + – S O complex and Ag Zn 1 + in the ZnO:(Ag, S), moreover, the ionization energy of the Ag zn 1 + – S O was smaller than that of the Ag Zn 1 + . The stable p-type conduction of the ZnO:(Ag, S) was suggested to be attributed to the increase of the Ag Zn 1 + content induced by S doping and to the formation of the Ag Zn 1 + – S O complex acceptor.

[1]  T. S. Lee,et al.  Properties of arsenic-doped p-type ZnO grown by hybrid beam deposition , 2003 .

[2]  A. Zunger,et al.  Cluster-doping approach for wide-gap semiconductors: the case of p-type ZnO. , 2003, Physical review letters.

[3]  Bixia Lin,et al.  Enhancement of ultraviolet emissions from ZnO films by Ag doping , 2006 .

[4]  L. J. Mandalapu,et al.  Ultraviolet emission from Sb-doped p-type ZnO based heterojunction light-emitting diodes , 2008 .

[5]  Hongwei Yan,et al.  Effect of Ag doping on the photoluminescence properties of ZnO films , 2009 .

[6]  Il-Kyu Park,et al.  UV Electroluminescence Emission from ZnO Light‐Emitting Diodes Grown by High‐Temperature Radiofrequency Sputtering , 2006 .

[7]  E. Källne,et al.  Electronic structure of aluminum and aluminum-noble-metal alloys studied by soft-x-ray and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopies , 1977 .

[8]  D. Look,et al.  The Path To ZnO Devices: Donor and Acceptor Dynamics , 2003 .

[9]  D. Shen,et al.  Effect of compressive stress on stability of N-doped p-type ZnO , 2011 .

[10]  Sang Yeol Lee,et al.  Structural, electrical, and optical properties of p-type ZnO thin films with Ag dopant , 2006 .

[11]  D. Look,et al.  Persistent n-type photoconductivity in p-type ZnO , 2006 .

[12]  Masashi Kawasaki,et al.  Room-temperature ultraviolet laser emission from self-assembled ZnO microcrystallite thin films , 1998 .

[13]  Anderson Janotti,et al.  Why nitrogen cannot lead to $p$-type conductivity in ZnO , 2009 .

[14]  B. Pan,et al.  Effects of S incorporation on Ag substitutional acceptors in ZnO:(Ag, S) thin films , 2009 .

[15]  P. Searson,et al.  ZnO quantum particle thin films fabricated by electrophoretic deposition , 1999 .

[16]  R. Baetzold,et al.  The application of photoemission, molecular orbital calculations, and molecular mechanics to the silver–poly(p‐phenylene sulfide) interface , 1991 .

[17]  B. Chowdari,et al.  Spectroscopic and electrical studies of silver sulfophosphate glasses , 1993 .

[18]  P. Kharel,et al.  Robust room temperature persistent photoconductivity in polycrystalline indium oxide films , 2009 .

[19]  Wei Gao,et al.  Influence of post-annealing conditions on properties of ZnO:Ag films , 2008 .

[20]  C. Wolden,et al.  On the formation and stability of p-type conductivity in nitrogen-doped zinc oxide , 2005 .

[21]  Shuyi Ma,et al.  A comparative study of the microstructures and optical properties of Cu- and Ag-doped ZnO thin films , 2009 .

[22]  Suhuai Wei,et al.  Origin of p -type doping difficulty in ZnO: The impurity perspective , 2002 .

[23]  Broser,et al.  Acceptor-exciton complexes in ZnO: A comprehensive analysis of their electronic states by high-resolution magnetooptics and excitation spectroscopy. , 1988, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[24]  A. Dadgar,et al.  Complex excitonic recombination kinetics in ZnO: Capture, relaxation, and recombination from steady state , 2007 .

[25]  Marika Edoff,et al.  Strong valence-band offset bowing of ZnO1-xSx enhances p-type nitrogen doping of ZnO-like alloys. , 2006, Physical review letters.

[26]  Yanfa Yan,et al.  Doping of ZnO by group-IB elements , 2006 .

[27]  B. Yao,et al.  Electrical properties and stability of p-type ZnO film enhanced by alloying with S and heavy doping of Cu , 2010 .

[28]  Nancy C. Giles,et al.  Temperature dependence of the free-exciton transition energy in zinc oxide by photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy , 2003 .

[29]  Han-Ping D. Shieh,et al.  Fabrication and nonlinear optical properties of nanoparticle silver oxide films , 2003 .

[30]  L. Shao,et al.  P-type ZnO thin films achieved by N+ ion implantation through dynamic annealing process , 2012 .

[31]  Shisheng Lin,et al.  Robust low resistivity p-type ZnO:Na films after ultraviolet illumination: The elimination of grain boundaries , 2012 .

[32]  Xiang-Rong Yu,et al.  Auger parameters for sulfur-containing compounds using a mixed aluminum-silver excitation source , 1990 .

[33]  Bin Yao,et al.  ZnO p-n junction light-emitting diodes fabricated on sapphire substrates , 2006 .

[34]  Z. Xiong,et al.  First-principles study of Ag-based p-type doping difficulty in ZnO , 2008 .

[35]  Li-ping Zhu,et al.  Fabrication of p-type Li-doped ZnO films by pulsed laser deposition , 2006 .

[36]  R. Auyeung,et al.  Fabrication of Zr–N codoped p-type ZnO thin films by pulsed laser deposition , 2007 .

[37]  D. C. Reynolds,et al.  Production and annealing of electron irradiation damage in ZnO , 1999 .

[38]  B. Yao,et al.  Effects of S on solid solubility of Ag and electrical properties of Ag-doped ZnO films grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering , 2013 .

[39]  V. K. Kaushik,et al.  XPS core level spectra and Auger parameters for some silver compounds , 1991 .

[40]  Jun Yuan,et al.  Control of p- and n-type conductivities in Li-doped ZnO thin films , 2006 .

[41]  Z. P. Wei,et al.  The mechanism of formation and properties of Li-doped p-type ZnO grown by a two-step heat treatment , 2006 .