Structural, optical and electrical properties of post annealed Mg doped ZnO films for optoelectronics applications

MgxZn1-xO films with 0.15 mole composition of Magnesium were successfully deposited by the spin coating sol–gel method. Zinc acetate dihydrate and Magnesium acetate were used as starting precursors to prepare the solution in ethanol solvent. The MgZnO films were deposited on microscopic glass substrates and post annealed at three different temperatures. X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and UV–VIS Spectrophotometer were used to characterize the deposited films for studying structural and optical properties. Energy dispersive analysis by X-ray (EDAX) was used to determine incorporation of Mg content in ZnO films. XRD spectrum reveals that, the deposited Mg doped ZnO films were polycrystalline in nature. The intensity of c-axis in the XRD spectrum goes on decreasing as Mg composition slightly increasing corresponding to increase in annealing temperature. EDAX spectra clearly showed the incorporation of Mg into the ZnO films. Semiconductor characterization system was used for the I–V characterization of MgZnO films. I–V characteristics show decrease in current as increase in the biased voltage. Optical band gap of MgZnO films was found to be increased from 3.2 to 3.38 eV as estimated from the absorption coefficients.