Influence of deposition method and dopant concentration on the applicability of RE-doped ZnO films

M. Manica1, O. Brincoveanu1, C. Romanitan1, D. Manica1, O. N. Ionescu1,2, M. P. Suchea1,3,* and Emmanouel Koudoumas1,3,*

1 National Institute for Research and Development in Microtechnologies - IMT Bucharest, 126A, Erou Iancu Nicolae Street, 077190, Voluntari-Bucharest, ROMANIA;   
2 Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti, 100680 Ploiesti, Romania;  
3 Center of Materials Technology and Photonics, School of Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU), 71410 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; 

Abstract

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is an intensively studied material due to its optical, electrical, magnetic and photocatalytic properties. To improve the properties of ZnO and adapt it for a targeted application, this material is doped with trivalent rare earth (RE) ions. The present study aims to compare the properties of thin films obtained by two different methods: spray pyrolysis and drop casting, also highlighting the influence of the dopant and its concentration. ZnO was doped with trivalent metal ions (La3+, Sm3+, Cr3+, Al3+ and Fe3+) at different concentrations (0.1%, 0.5% and 1%). The obtained thin films were characterized using a variety of current characterization techniques such as: scanning electron micrograph (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The obtained results were studied in the context of the sensor applicability of the obtained films, namely for gas sensors and transparent conductive oxides (TCO).