Effect of Pb doping onto physical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by AACVD

In the present work, we studied the effect of Lead-concentration (0-1 wt%) on the physical properties of zinc oxide thin films and its photo-detection properties. All films were deposited using Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (AACVD) techniques with the same deposition parameters but at different Pb concentration changes. Films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and optical spectroscopy. XRD revealed the formation of single-phase hexagonal ZnO thin films with preferred orientation changes from (002) to (100) at Pb concentration of 0.5wt% film. The crystallite size in deposited films is between 14 and 16 nm. The formation of nano-rods was also recorded in the films prepared with 0.5 and 1wt% lead. The band gap values have been estimated and increased with increased Pb doping. The response of the deposited films against UV light (365 nm, 6 micro-watt) is recorded with very high sensitivity at long times of exposure.

Automated summary

This study investigated the impact of lead concentration (0-1 wt%) on the physical properties and photo-detection properties of zinc oxide thin films. All films were deposited using Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (AACVD) techniques and characterized through various methods. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the formation of single-phase hexagonal ZnO thin films with preferred orientation changes at a Pb concentration of 0.5wt%. The formation of nano-rods was observed in films prepared with 0.5 and 1wt% lead. The band gap values increased with increased Pb doping. The deposited films exhibited high sensitivity to UV light after long exposure.