Electrical and optical properties of Sb-doped ZnO thin films synthesized by sol–gel method

Sb-doped ZnO thin films with different values of Sb content (from 0 to 1.1 at.%) are deposited by the sol–gel dip-coating method under different sol concentrations. The effects of Sb-doping content, sol concentration, and annealing ambient on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO films are investigated. The results of the X-ray diffraction and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS) spectrophotometer indicate that each of all the films retains the wurtzite ZnO structure and possesses a preferred orientation along the c axis, with high transmittance (> 90%) in the visible range. The Hall effect measurements show that the vacuum annealed thin films synthesized in the sol concentration of 0.75 mol/L each have an adjustable n-type electrical conductivity by varying Sb-doping density, and the photoluminescence (PL) spectra revealed that the defect emission (around 450 nm) is predominant. However, the thin films prepared by the sol with a concentration of 0.25 mol/L, despite their poor conductivity, have priority in ultraviolet emission, and the PL peak position shows first a blue-shift and then a red-shift with the increase of the Sb doping content.