Influence of nitrogen and magnesium doping on the properties of ZnO films

Undoped ZnO and doped ZnO films were deposited on the MgO(111) substrates using oxygen plasma-assisted molecular beam expitaxy. The orientations of the grown ZnO thin film were investigated by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex situ x-ray diffraction (XRD). The film roughness was measured by atomic force microscopy, which was correlated with the grain sizes determined by XRD. Synchrotron-based x-ray absorption spectroscopy was performed to study the doping effect on the electronic properties of the ZnO films, compared with density functional theory calculations. It is found that, nitrogen doping would hinder the growth of thin film, and generate the NO defect, while magnesium doping promotes the quality of nitrogen-doped ZnO films, inhibiting (N-2)O production and increasing nitrogen content.