An investigation on the role of low temperature annealing on the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of DC magnetron sputtered Zn(1-x)Sn(x)O thin films

This study reveals the effect of low-temperature air annealing on various physical properties of Zn(1-x) Sn (x)O (x = 0.14) (TZO) thin films. The thin films were grown on glass substrates by co-sputtering techniques and the grown films were subjected to low temperature air -annealing. X-ray diffraction studies on the grown samples reveal a polycrystalline nature with a hexagonal wurtzite structure. A Change in orientation from (002) to (100) followed by an increase in crystallinity was observed in 100 degrees C annealed samples. A variation in the optical band gap from 3.17 to 3.44 eV after annealing was noticed. Changes in the defect density of Zn interstitials and Oxygen vacancies are clearly noticeable from PL analysis. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) elucidate an enhanced oxygen vacancies after doping. The van der Pauw resistivity measurement revealed a decrement in the resistivity after doping and annealing.