Advanced Morphological, Structural, and Optical Study of Pure and Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films for Transparent Electronics Applications

Present work reports on the sol–gel synthesis of pure zinc oxide (ZnO) and 1% vanadium (V) doped zinc oxide (V:ZnO) thin films. Characterization of the fabricated thin films was carried out to study the structural, morphological, elemental, and optical properties. XRD analysis confirms strain is created due to V doping. Morphological results show that V:ZnO thin films are much smoother and homogeneous in comparison to that pure ZnO thin films. The doping of V ion in the ZnO crystal shows a decrease in Urbach energy, and CIE chromaticity results show that V:ZnO emits dark blue color. The statistical and fractal analysis reveals that 1% V doping enhances uniform and smooth texture. Overall results reveal that V:ZnO thin films have been used in transparent electronics and as blue LED.