Structural and optical study of sputtered grown Sb doped ZnO thin film

Sb-ZnO (SZO) thin films were formed on n-Si semiconductor and sapphire by dual ion beam sputtering (DIBS) technique. Structural and optical parameters of SZO sputtered grown film were determined by ellipsometry and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and I-V analysis of the SZO/n-Si heterojunction device in dark. A smooth film without any grain boundaries is observed in SEM analysis. The bandgap (Eg) of the grown SZO film is obtained and the value of Eg obtained is 3.92 eV. A high refractive index in the range of n=1.85-2.08 is shown by the deposited SZO film in the ultraviolet (UV)-visible region, moreover, it can be seen from the ellipsometry analysis that the fundamental absorption edge is obtained near the UV region. A rectification ratio of ~ 16 times is observed at ±4 V for SZO/n-Si heterojunction. The Study concludes that SZO material has the potential to be used in the application dealing with the UV region of the light spectra.