Energy band bowing parameter in MgZnO alloys

We report on bandgap bowing parameters for wurtzite and cubic MgZnO alloys from a study of high quality and single phase films in all Mg content range. The Mg contents in the MgZnO films were accurately determined using the energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The measurement of bandgap energies by examining the onset of inelastic energy loss in core-level atomic spectra from XPS is proved to be valid for determining the bandgap of MgZnO films. The dependence of the energy bandgap on Mg content is found to deviate downwards from linearity. Fitting of the bandgap data resulted in two bowing parameters of 2.01 +/- 0.04 eV and 1.48 +/- 0.11 eV corresponding to wurtzite and cubic MgZnO films, respectively. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.