Ag Doped ZnO Thin Films Deposited by Spin Coating for Silicon Surface Passivation

Synthesized pure and Ag-doped ZnO nanostructures through a simple co-precipitation method, which was then applied onto silicon (Si) substrates using a spin-coating technique. The nanostructure and opto-electronic characteristics evolution of elaborated layers doped with different Ag content was studied. The crystal structure and surface morphology of the deposited films were investigated using XRD and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The surface passivation quality is determined by employing FTIR and photoconductance-based techniques, according to research on the evolution of electronic and optical losses in the silicon top surface. Lifetime values determined by photoconductance lifetime measurement show an increases from 1.5 to 106 μs at the density (n) of 5.1014 cm−3. However, the reflectivity given by UV–Vis results demonstrate a decrease from 36 to 6% after the deposition of Ag:ZnO on silicon surface.