ISSN 0036ꢀ0236, Russian Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2011, Vol. 56, No. 10, pp. 1509–1516. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2011.
Original Russian Text © L.N. Demyanets, V.V. Kireev, L.E. Li, V.V. Artemov, 2011, published in Zhurnal Neorganicheskoi Khimii, 2011, Vol. 56, No. 10, pp. 1587–1594.
SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES
OF INORGANIC COMPOUNDS
Thin Films of ZnO:M Synthesized by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis
†
L. N. Demyanets , V. V. Kireev, L. E. Li, and V. V. Artemov
Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 59, Moscow, 117333 Russia
Received May 26, 2010
Abstract—High optical quality ZnO:M@Si nanocomposites (where M is the doping element) were obtained
by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The variation of experimental conditions, the use of various precursors and
dopants demonstrated that the morphology of zinc oxide nanoparticles is mainly determined by the sort of
the doping element. The luminescence spectra confirm indirectly the isomorphous incorporation of the
dopant ions into the zinc oxide lattice.
DOI: 10.1134/S0036023611100056
†
Zinc oxide is a wellꢀknown wide bandgap semiconꢀ
ductor having a unique set of physical properties,
which determine its practical value for many fields of
technology. Particular attention is attracted by nanocꢀ
rystalline zinc oxide as a material of modern nanoꢀ
technology in the fields of photonics, spintronics, laser
physics, and others [1–4]. The scope of applications of
smallꢀsized ZnO is markedly extended by using isoꢀ or
heteroisomorphous substitution in the oxide structure.
EXPERIMENTAL
Synthesis. ZnO films were prepared by crystallizaꢀ
tion of ZnO upon thermal decomposition of the aeroꢀ
sol obtained by ultrasonic dispersion of a precursor
solution (ultrasonic spray pyrolysis, USP).
The ultrasonic aerosol generator produces an aeroꢀ
sol consisting of ultradisperse drops of several
micrometer size above the solution surface. Fast heatꢀ
ing of the drops induces evaporation of the solvent,
heating and decomposition of the precursor, and
chemical reaction between the starting compounds
+
2+
The
М
(Li, H), M (Be, Mg, Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, etc.),
3
+
5+
M (In, Ga,Cr, Ln, Al, etc.), M (Sb, P, N, V), and
6+
M ions (S) ions have been admixed to zinc oxide [5–
8]. The incorporation of dopant ions into the lattice
(
Fig. 1). It is very important that in this case, homogꢀ
1
enization occurs at the molecular level, because a true
solution is atomized. Thus, using precursors of a comꢀ
plex composition, it is possible to obtain doped partiꢀ
cles.
changes the band gap width, gives rise to new physical
characteristics (magnetic, piezoelectric, optical, specꢀ
troscopic, and chemical characteristics). The dopants
function as either donors or acceptors. The key substiꢀ
tution dopants that function as donors include the
An experimental setup was designed for sputtering
of zinc oxide crystallites. The schematic view of the
setup is presented in Fig. 2. A Liiot humidifier (Korea)
was used as the ultrasonic aerosol generator. The sputꢀ
tering chamber was a 1.5 mꢀlong quartz tube heated
with a tube furnace at the bottom. Owing to the suffiꢀ
cient height of the tube and high temperature in the
sputtering chamber, a convective flow is formed,
which ensures the vertical migration of the aerosol
mixture. The substrates are placed in the tube on a
heatꢀresistant alloy wire. This setup allows one to perꢀ
form deposition on numerous substrates in one experꢀ
iment; for each substrate, the path lengths of the aeroꢀ
sol drops and nascent particles (the distance from the
3+
Group III elements M , which occupy cationic sites,
Group VII elements (F, C1), which occupy anionic
sites of the crystal lattice, and
duction of these ions into the zinc oxide lattice
increases the electrical conductivity. For the formation
of acceptors in the compounds A B , it is necessary to
replace a Group II element by a Group I cation and to
replace a Group VI element by a Group V anion. Such
a doping suppresses the
actually observed upon doping of zinc oxide with Sb,
P, N giving rise to ꢀtype conductivity.
+
М
(Li, H). The introꢀ
II VI
nꢀtype conductivity; this is
р
Nanocrystalline ZnO doped with various elements
is prepared using the same set of methods as are used
to obtain a nominally pure material, in particular,
crystallization methods from the liquid, gas, or solid
phase [3, 19–25].
generator nozzle to the substrate, L) and temperature
are known. Since the temperature is changed along the
height of the sputtering chamber, the dependence of
the substrate temperature on the substrate position in
The purpose of this work was to obtain Inꢀ, Gaꢀ, the chamber (and, hence, on
and Pꢀdoped ZnO nanocrystals and films in order to ent rated temperatures measured by the control therꢀ
elucidate the effect of dopants on the morphology and mocouple. The results of this study for some values
are presented in Fig. 3. Using this plot, it is possible to
L) was studied at differꢀ
T
c
physical properties of ZnO:M.
estimate the real temperature of each substrate in the
experiment.
†
Deceased.
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