Investigation of formation mechanism of Li-P dual-acceptor doped p-type ZnO

In this work, the dual-acceptor doping method has been used to produce low resistive and stable p-type ZnO thin films. The ZnO:(Li, P) films were deposited on n-type Si substrates by dual ion beam sputtering. The p-type conduction was achieved by thermal annealing at 800 degrees C for 20 min in N-2 ambient. The lowest resistivity of 0.016 Omega cm with a hole concentration and a Hall mobility of 2.31 x 10(20) cm(-3) and 1.6 cm(2)/V s, respectively, were obtained at an optimal deposition temperature of 300 degrees C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis confirmed the formation of Li-Zn and P-Zn-2V(Zn) acceptor complexes along with a trace of P-O defects resulting in a high hole concentration. Published by AIP Publishing.