Structure and optical properties of Mn-Fe doped ZnO thin films RF-sputtered in nitrogen gas environment

Zinc oxide (ZnO) doped with Mn, Fe and Mn-Fe thin films have been deposited onto Si (1 0 0) by sputtering. The films have hexagonal wurtzite structure, the estimated crystallite (D) show decreases with change in doping in ZnO. The FE-SEM images show dense microstructure with an average grain size ∼22–32 nm. The AFM images ranges from ∼4 to 7 nm. The phonon modes of E (high) and A1 (LO) correspond to ZnO. The mode at 274 cm−1 was missing, indicating nitrogen is not present in ZnO. The films deposited for Mn-Fe co-doped ZnO show high intensity at mode of 964 cm−1 than Mn and Fe in ZnO, show different ionic radii of Mn and Fe.