Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-9pm4c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T03:48:06.224Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nitrogen partial pressure-dependent Mg concentration, structure, and optical properties of MgxZn1−xO film grown by magnetron sputtering

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

C.X. Cong ,
B. Yao ,
Y.P. Xie ,
G.Z. Xing ,
B.H. Li ,
X.H. Wang ,
Z.P. Wei ,
Z.Z. Zhang ,
Y.M. Lv  and
D.Z. Shen
...Show all authors
C.X. Cong
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, People’s Republic of China; and Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
B. Yao*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, People’s Republic of China; and Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
Y.P. Xie
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, People’s Republic of China; and Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
G.Z. Xing
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130023, People’s Republic of China; and Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
B.H. Li
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
X.H. Wang
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
Z.P. Wei
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
Z.Z. Zhang
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
Y.M. Lv
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
D.Z. Shen
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
X.W. Fan
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Excited State Processes, Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130021, People’s Republic of China
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: yaobin196226@yahoo.com.cn
Get access

Abstract

MgxZn1−xO films were grown on quartz substrates at 773 K by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering with a mixture of argon and nitrogen as sputtering gases. The nitrogen concentration in the mixture is characterized by the nitrogen partial pressure ratio, which is determined by the ratio of nitrogen flow rate to the flow rates of nitrogen and argon. It was found that Mg concentration, structure, and band gap of the MgxZn1−xO film could be tuned by changing the nitrogen partial pressure ratio of the sputtering gases. The Mg concentration in the MgxZn1−xO film increases with increasing nitrogen partial pressure ratio. The MgxZn1−xO film consists of wurtzite phase at the ratios from 0% to 50%, mixture of wurtzite and cubic phases at the ratios between 50% and 83%, and cubic phase at 100%. The band gap of the MgxZn1−xO film with wurtzite and cubic structure increases as the ratio rises. The variation of the structure and band gap is attributed to change of the Mg concentration, which results from loss of the O and Zn atoms during growth process, the former is induced by reaction between N and O, and the latter by re-evaporation of Zn atoms due to high substrate temperature. The mechanism of the loss of the O and Zn atoms is discussed based on thermodynamics.

Keywords

SemiconductingLuminescenceStructural
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 22 , Issue 10 , October 2007 , pp. 2936 - 2942
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1Look, D.C.: Recent advances in ZnO materials and devices. Mater. Sci. Eng., B 80, 383 2001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2Tang, Z.K., Wong, G.K.L., Yu, P., Kawasaki, M., Ohtomo, A., Koinuma, H.Segawa, Y.: Room-temperature ultraviolet laser emission from self-assembled ZnO microcrystallite thin films. Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 3270 1998CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3Ohtomo, A., Tamura, K.Kawasaki, M.: Room-temperature stimulated emission of excitons in ZnO/(Mg, Zn)O superlattices. Appl. Phys. Lett. 77, 2204 2000CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Makino, T., Tamure, K., Chia, C.H., Segawa, Y., Kawasaki, M., Ohtomo, A.Koinuma, H.: Optical properties of ZnO Al epilayers and of undoped epilayers capped by wider-gap MgxZn1−xO grown by laser MBE. Phys. Status Solidi B 229, 853 20023.0.CO;2-7>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5Choopun, S., Vispute, R.D.W., Noch, A., Balsamo, R.P., Sharma, T., Iiiadis, A.V.Look, D.C.: Oxygen pressure-tuned epitaxy and optoelectronic properties of laser-deposited ZnO films on sapphire. Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 3947 1999CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6Tsukazaki, A., Ohtomo, A., Onuma, T., Ohtani, M., Makino, T., Sumiya, M., Ohtani, K., Chichibu, S.F., Fuke, S., Segawa, Y., Ohno, H., Koinuma, H.Kawasaki, M.: Repeated temperature modulation epitaxy for p-type doping and light-emitting diode based on ZnO. Nat. Mater. 4, 42 2005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7Jiao, S.J., Zhang, Z.Z., Lu, Y.M., Shen, D.Z., Yao, B., Zhang, J.Y., Li, B.H., Zhao, D.X., Fan, X.W.Tang, Z.K.: ZnO p–n junction light-emitting diodes fabricated on sapphire substrates. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 031911 2006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8Jeong, M-C., Oh, B-Y., Ham, M-H.Myoung, J-M.: Electroluminescence from ZnO nanowires in n-ZnO film/ZnO nanowire array/p-GaN film heterojunction light- emitting diodes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 202105 2006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9Ryu, Y., Lee, T-S., Lubguban, J.A., White, H.W., Kim, B-J., Park, Y-S.Youn, C-J.: Next generation of oxide photonic devices: ZnO-based ultraviolet light emitting diodes. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 241108 2006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Matsumoto, Y., Murakami, M., Jin, Z.Ohtomo, A.: Combinatorial laser molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of Mg–Zn–O alloy for band gap engineering. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 38(2), L603 1999CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Lim, J-H., Kang, C-K., Kim, K-K., Park, I-K., Hwang, D-K.Park, S-J.: UV electroluminescence emission from ZnO light-emitting diodes grown by high-temperature radiofrequency sputtering. Adv. Mater. 18, 2720 2006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Ohtomo, A., Kawasaki, M., Koida, T., Masubuchi, K., Koinuma, H., Sakurai, Y., Segawa, Y., Yasuda, T.Segawa, Y.: MgxZn1−xO as a II–VI widegap semiconductor alloy. Appl. Phys. Lett. 72(19), 2466 1998CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13Vashaei, Z., Minegishi, T., Suzuki, H., Hanada, T., Cho, M.W.Yao, T.: Structural variation of cubic and hexagonal MgxZn1−xO layers grown on MgO(111)/c-sapphire. J. Appl. Phys. 98, 054911 2005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14Bhattacharya, P., Rasmi, R.Katiyar, R.S.: Fabrication of stable wide-band-gap ZnO/MgO multilayer thin films. Appl. Phys. Lett. 83(10), 2010 2003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15Choopun, S., Vispute, R.D., Yang, W., Sharma, R.P., Venkatesan, T.Shen, H.: Realization of band gap above 5.0 eV in metastable cubic-phase MgxZn1−xO alloy films. Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 1529 2002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Shan, F.K., Kim, B.I., Liu, G.X., Liu, Z.F., Sohn, J.Y., Lee, W.J., Shin, B.C.Yu, Y.S.: Blueshift of near-band-edge emission in Mg doped ZnO thin films and aging. J. Appl. Phys. 95(9), 4772 2004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17Kang, H.S., Kim, G.H., Kim, D.L., Chang, H.W., Ahh, B.D.Lee, S.Y.: Investigation on the p-type formation mechanism of arsenic doped p-type ZnO thin film. Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 181103 2006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18Ohtomo, A., Tamura, K., Kawasaki, M., Makino, T., Segawa, Y., Tang, Z.K., Wong, G.K.L., Matsumoto, Y.Koinuma, H.: Room-temperature stimulated emission of excitons in ZnO/(Mg,Zn)O superlattices. Appl. Phys. Lett. 77(14), 2204 2000CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19Gruber, Th., Kirchner, C., Kling, R., Reuss, F.Waag, A.: ZnMgO epilayers and ZnO–ZnMgO quantum wells for optoelectronic applications in the blue and UV spectral region. Appl. Phys. Lett. 84(26), 5359 2004CrossRefGoogle Scholar