Abstract Samarium and aluminium co-doped ZnO (Sm:AZO) thin films were deposited on glass substrate by nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique with different Sm doping concentrations (0 at%, 0.5 at%, 1 at% and 1.5 at%). X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the polycrystalline nature of prepared films with hexagonal crystal structure. The average crystallite size was found to be reduced with Sm doping due to increased lattice defects. The Raman spectra exhibited characteristic ZnO wurtzite structure confirmed through the presence of E2-high mode peak at 438 cm−1. The surface topology analysis revealed uniformly distributed wheat shaped particles without any pinholes for 1 at% Sm doped ZnO film. Sm:AZO films displayed high transparency which is around 90% and the energy gap of ~ 3.30 eV. Photoluminescence spectra of the thin films showed an UV emission peak at ~ 386 nm corresponds to near band edge (NBE) emission of bulk ZnO. Room temperature Hall Effect measurement showed that all the prepared films possess n-type conducting nature with low electrical resistivity (ρ) 4.31 × 10−4 Ω cm for 1 at% Sm doped film. High figure of merit (ф) value of ~ 11.9 × 10−3 (Ω/cm)−1 was observed which indicates that the deposited films are highly suitable for opto-electronic device applications.

中文翻译：

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喷雾热解制备用于光电应用的稀土Sm 3+ 共掺杂AZO薄膜

摘要 钐铝共掺杂ZnO（Sm:AZO）薄膜通过雾化喷雾热解技术沉积在不同Sm掺杂浓度（0 at%、0.5 at%、1 at%和1.5 at%）的玻璃基板上。X 射线衍射图证实了制备的具有六方晶体结构的薄膜的多晶性质。由于增加的晶格缺陷，发现平均微晶尺寸随着 Sm 掺杂而减小。拉曼光谱表现出特征性的 ZnO 纤锌矿结构，通过在 438 cm-1 处存在 E2-high 模式峰证实。表面拓扑分析表明，对于 1 at% Sm 掺杂的 ZnO 薄膜，小麦形颗粒均匀分布，没有任何针孔。Sm:AZO 薄膜显示出约 90% 的高透明度和~3.30 eV 的能隙。薄膜的光致发光光谱在~386 nm 处显示出紫外发射峰，对应于体 ZnO 的近带边 (NBE) 发射。室温霍尔效应测量表明，所有制备的薄膜都具有 n 型导电性质，对于 1 at% Sm 掺杂薄膜，电阻率 (ρ) 为 4.31 × 10−4 Ω cm。观察到~ 11.9 × 10-3 (Ω/cm)-1 的高品质因数 (ф) 值，这表明沉积的薄膜非常适合光电器件应用。