High efficiency white luminescence of alumina doped ZnO

The application of alumina-doped ZnO (AZO) films as luminescent material for large area lighting sources has been evaluated. Thin films were grown on quartz using magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed under argon atmosphere in a rapid thermal annealing experiment. Below 550 degrees C, red-shift of the optical band gap and increase of the visible emission are observed in agreement with Al diffusion and formation of interstitial oxygen atoms. At temperatures higher than 800 degrees C, diffusion is activated and Ostwald ripening leads to the formation of larger grains and an increase of the crystalline phase. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity is enhanced, specifically in the UV range. As a result the emission spectrum of AZO thin films can be adjusted by the annealing conditions, with equal contributions from the UV and orange parts of the PL spectrum resulting in an efficient white emission as quantified using the color space map of the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.