Optical and Electrical Characterizations of ZnMnO Thin Films on c-Al(2)O(3)

Abstract

We have studied the manganese (Mn) composition dependence of the optical and electrical properties of ZnMnO thin films, which are grown on c-Al(2)O(3) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). The lattice constant and grain size are estimated by Xray diffraction (XRD), and it is found that the lattice constant increases and the grain size decreases with increasing Mn composition. When more Mn is incorporated into the ZnMnO thin films, a blue shift of the absorption edges and photoluminescence emission peaks are observed. Hall measurement shows n-type conduction behavior for all the samples. The decrease in mobility might be related with the increase in the number of impurity scattering centers, and the decrease in the carrier concentration can be attributed to the carrier quenching effect induced by the deep-level defects. The ac electrical response of ZnMnO is studied by impedance spectroscopy (IS). The equivalent RC circuit and parameters of the grain and grain boundary are determined. (C) 2009 The Japan Society of Applied Physics