A study of the 160 MeV Ni7+ swift heavy ion irradiation effect of defect creation and shifting of the phonon modes on MnxZn1-xO thin films

MnxZn1-xO thin films were successfully synthesized by the dip coating technique. The thin films were irradiated by Ni7+ swift heavy ions (SHI) with 1 x 10(13) ions per cm(2) fluence, and their structural, electrical, Raman spectral and surface morphological properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the P6(3)mc space groups, and the crystallite size increased after SHI irradiation, due to electron rearrangements. I-V studies revealed enhanced conductivity after Ni7+ SHI irradiation and showed the ohmic nature of the sample. The irradiation sensor efficiency and responsibility were calculated by using I-V data, which revealed impressive results. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed to determine the evolution of defects and defect-annealing during ion irradiation; enhancement in the luminosity of pure and 5% Mn substituted ZnO thin films was observed. The presence of the Raman active strongest optical phonon mode of ZnO at 436.19 cm(-1) revealed that ZnO with hexagonal wurtzite structure supported the XRD results. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images revealed the formation of nano-bunches on the surface and enhanced the surface roughness and skewness of the irradiated samples, due to coulombic interactions between electrons and ions.