Effect of thickness on structural, optical and magnetic properties of Co doped ZnO thin film by pulsed laser deposition

Zn0.97Co0.03O thin films were deposited on n-type silicon substrate (111) using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique with different thicknesses of 200 +/- 20nm, 320 +/- 20nm, and 480 +/- 20nm. The Zn0.97Co0.03O powders prepared by sol-combustion were formed as pellets. A neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) class 4 laser (lambda = 266 nm, 5-8 pulse duration, 2 Hz duration rate) were used for the PLD of the nanostructures. The structure of the prepared thin films was investigated using different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The optical properties of prepared thin films were investigated using UV-vis spectrometry. In addition, the magnetic properties of the samples were studied by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that the properties of the thin films altered by thickness changes.