Light scattering effect of iron doped zinc oxide thin films through structural and optical analysis

Herein, structural, and optical properties of the sprayed Zn1-xFexO (ZFO) thin films, with 0 < x < 0.15, have been investigated, by combining experimental characterizations, and theoretical calculations of the light scattering properties. The X-ray diffraction patterns displays a hexagonal wurtzite structure of the polycrystalline films, with c-axis orientation. The iron ions substitution of Zn2+ ions, was confirmed by XRD, Raman and photoluminescence measurements. Furthermore, an obvious redshift in the near band edge emission peak was also observed by photoluminescence analysis which is attributed to the band structure deformation in ZnO thin films. The resulting optical data indicated a strong correlation between the haze factor, crystalline quality, and the surface morphology feature. The scalar scattering theory within the Rayleigh scattering formula, was used to calculate the simulated haze factor, for the two optimized ZFO thin films, through crystalline quality and surface roughness, namely, the synthetized ZFO film with a 5at% and 7at% iron concentration. A good agreement with the scalar scattering theory is obtained, for the haze factor relative to the transmission.

Automated summary

This study investigated the structural and optical properties of sprayed Zn1-xFexO (ZFO) thin films through experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations. The substitution of Zn2+ ions by iron ions in ZFO films was confirmed, leading to a noticeable redshift in the emission peak. The scalar scattering theory within the Rayleigh scattering formula was used to calculate the simulated haze factor, showing a strong correlation between crystalline quality, surface morphology, and optical properties.