Optical and electrical properties of Nd-doped ZnO films prepared by sol-gel method

Abstract

ZnO films doped with Nd contents of 0%-0.81% were deposited by a chemical solution deposition and characterised by X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV-vis and luminescent spectrophotometry and electrical measurement. The experiments revealed that the films have nano-scale particle size that increased with increasing Nd content. The Nd doping resulted in the obvious variations of transmittance in the UV-visible light range, the band gap and resistivity. Thin film showed an optimal optical and electrical properties at Nd content of 0.42%. The films also showed a strong band gap emission and a very weak emission related to intrinsic defect.