Non-Polar P-Type Zn0.94mn0.05na0.01o Texture: Growth Mechanism And Codoping Effect

The microstructure and crystal orientations of polycrystalline films crucially affect the properties and performance of the films. Controlling preferred orientations (PO) and related film morphology are necessary to obtain the desirable properties. In this paper, we demonstrate a rational and effective route toward the realization of non-polar p-type ZnO thin film with surface texture on quartz substrate through Mn-Na codoping. It is uncovered experimentally and theoretically that mono-doping of Mn creates opportunity to realize PO from polar (c-axis) to non-polar ((10 (1) over bar0), (10 (1) over bar1), and (11 (2) over bar0)) changing. With Mn-Na codoping, an acute modulation of the growth behavior and electrical conductivity of the film have been revealed, leading to weak p-type non-polar Zn0.94Mn0.05Na0.01O (ZMNO) texture. The dominant mechanism for the non-polar self-texture in the current paper is deliberately elucidated as resulting from the interplane surface diffusion with the cooperative effect of impurity dopants. The ZMNO films exhibit p-type conduction with hole concentration of 9.51 x 10(15) - 1.86 x 10(17) cm(-3) and enhanced room temperature (RT) ferromagnetism possessing a saturation magnetization (M-s) of 1.52 mu(B)/Mn. The results have potential applications in development of non-polar optoelectronic devices such as lighting emitting diodes (LEDs). (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4792493]