D.X. Zhao

Single-crystalline cubic MgZnO films and their application in deep-ultraviolet optoelectronic devices

By employing a relatively low growth temperature and oxygen-rich conditions, single-crystalline cubic MgZnO films were prepared. A solar-blind deep ultraviolet (DUV) photodetector was finished on the MgZnO film. The maximum responsivity of the photodetector is 396 mA/W at 10 V bias, which is almost three orders of magnitude larger than the highest value ever reported in MgZnO-based solar-blind photodetectors. The dark current density is 1.5×10−11 A/cm2, comparable with the smallest value ever reported in solar-blind photodetectors. The improved performance reveals that the single-crystalline cubic MgZnO films have great potential applications in DUV optoelectronic devices.

Nitrogen-related recombination mechanisms in p-type ZnO films grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

The recombination mechanisms of nitrogen-related emissions in p-type ZnO films were investigated by photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The enhanced peak at 3.260 eV was confirmed as a donor-acceptor pair (DAP) transition and the emission around 3.310 eV was assigned to the free electron to acceptor (FA) recombination by studying the temperature evolution of DAP and FA luminescence, calculating the energy level of the corresponding nitrogen acceptor, and measuring the decay time of DAP transition. By comparing the PL spectra of the samples with various hole concentrations, it can be found that as the hole concentration increases, the DAP peak significantly dominates the spectra. In addition, the acceptor binding energy is estimated to be about 120 meV from the FA transition, which is in good agreement with the value calculated by a hydrogenic acceptor model.

Biaxial stress-dependent optical band gap, crystalline, and electronic structure in wurtzite ZnO: Experimental and ab initio study

The relationship between band gap and biaxial stress in wurtzite ZnO thin films has been investigated by side-inclination x-ray diffraction technique and optical absorbance spectrum as well as ab initio calculation. The experimental result shows that differing from other semiconductor thin films with hexagonal structure, such as GaN, the band gap of ZnO thin films increases with the increase in biaxial tensile stress. For explaining the difference, ab initio calculation is performed to simulate the relationship between band gap and biaxial stress of wurtzite ZnO and GaN. The calculated result indicates that the band gap of ZnO increases under biaxial tensile stress but GaN is opposite, supporting our experimental result. The band offset calculation shows that the conduction-band minimum (CBM) and the valence-band maximum (VBM) of ZnO and GaN offset to low energy under biaxial tensile stress. The VBM offset of ZnO is larger than the CBM, responsible for the increase in band gap. The VBM offset of GaN is sm...

Valence-band offset of epitaxial ZnO∕MgO (111) heterojunction determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The valence-band offset of ZnO∕MgO (111) heterojunction has been directly measured by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Excluding the strain effect, the valence-band offset is determined to be 0.87±0.20eV, and the conduction-band offset ΔEC is deduced to be −3.59±0.20eV, indicating that ZnO∕MgO heterojunction has a type-I band alignment. The conduction-band and valence-band offset of MgO∕ZnO is used to interpret the origination of p-type conduction in undoped MgxZn1−xO alloy and deeper acceptor level in undoped and N-doped p-type MgxZn1−xO alloy than in ZnO.

Investigation on the formation mechanism of p-type Li-N dual-doped ZnO

Lithium and nitrogen dual-doped ZnO films [ZnO:(Li, N)] with Li concentrations of 0%–11.2% were grown on sapphire by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, and a stable p-type ZnO:(Li, N) film was obtained by doping 6.1% of Li. The p-type conductivity of ZnO:(Li, N) is attributed to the formation of the Lii–NO complex, which depresses the compensation of Lii donor for LiZn acceptor and the generation of (N2)O donors. It is demonstrated that the Lii–NO complex can form an impurity band above the valance band maximum, resulting in a decrease in the ionization energy of the acceptor and an improvement in the conductivity and stability of the p-type ZnO:(Li, N).

Evidence of cation vacancy induced room temperature ferromagnetism in Li-N codoped ZnO thin films

Room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) was observed in Li-N codoped ZnO thin films [ZnO:(Li, N)] fabricated by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, and p-type ZnO:(Li, N) shows the strongest RTFM. Positron annihilation spectroscopy and low temperature photoluminescence measurements indicate that the RTFM in ZnO:(Li, N) is attributed to the defect complex related to VZn, such as VZn and Lii-NO-VZn complex, well supported by first-principles calculations. The incorporation of NO can stabilize and enhance the RTFM of ZnO:(Li, N) by combining with Lii to form Lii-NO complex, which restrains the compensation of Lii for VZn and makes the ZnO:(Li, N) conduct in p-type.

Excitonic electroluminescence from ZnO-based heterojunction light emitting diodes

This work reports on the fabrication and characteristics of n-ZnO/p-GaN and n-ZnO/n-MgZnO/n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunction light emitting diodes (LEDs). Both devices exhibited diode-like rectifying current-voltage characteristics. Room temperature electroluminescence (EL) spectra for both LEDs consisted of dominant emission at 375 nm and two weaker bands centred at 415 nm and 525 nm, which were attributed to ZnO excitonic transition and defect-related emissions from GaN and ZnO, respectively. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the single heterojunction required a higher injection current to obtain an excitonic EL than that for the n-ZnO/n-MgZnO/n-ZnO/p-GaN LEDs. This indicated that the insertion of the MgZnO layer confined the injection carriers and thus increased the intensity of excitonic emission in the ZnO active region.

Acceptor formation mechanisms determination from electrical and optical properties of p-type ZnO doped with lithium and nitrogen

A lithium (Li) and nitrogen (N) dual-doped p-type ZnO film (ZnO : (Li,N)) was deposited on c-plane sapphire by RF-magnetron sputtering of Zn–2 at.% Li alloy using mixed gases of oxygen and nitrogen and then annealing in N2 flow. It has a carrier concentration of 3.07 × 1016 cm−3 and Hall mobility of 1.74 cm2 V−1 s−1. XPS measurement shows that there are LiZn–N complexes in the p-type ZnO : (Li,N), which are demonstrated by photoluminescence measured at various temperatures and different excitation powers to be acceptors and responsible for p-type conductivity of the ZnO : (Li,N). The optical level of the LiZn–N complex acceptor is estimated to be about 126 meV by measurement of emission energy of free electron to the acceptor level.

High-performance solar-blind ultraviolet photodetector based on mixed-phase ZnMgO thin film

High Mg content mixed-phase Zn0.38Mg0.62O was deposited on a-face sapphire by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, based on which a metal-semiconductor-metal solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) photodetector was fabricated. The dark current is only 0.25 pA at 5 V, which is much lower than that of the reported mixed-phase ZnMgO photodetectors. More interestingly, different from the other mixed-phase ZnMgO photodetectors containing two photoresponse bands, this device shows only one response peak and its −3 dB cut-off wavelength is around 275 nm. At 10 V, the peak responsivity is as high as 1.664 A/W at 260 nm, corresponding to an internal gain of ∼8. The internal gain is mainly ascribed to the interface states at the grain boundaries acting as trapping centers of photogenerated holes. In view of the advantages of mixed-phase ZnMgO photodetectors over single-phase ZnMgO photodetectors, including easy fabrication, high responsivity, and low dark current, our findings are anticipated to pave a new way for the dev...

The growth of ZnMgO alloy films for deep ultraviolet detection

ZnMgO films are prepared by RF magnetron sputtering using a composite target and the Mg composition of the samples can be controlled easily even at a high growth temperature. The metal?semiconductor?metal photodetector based on the wurtzite Zn0.6Mg0.4O film exhibits a very low dark current (5?pA at |Vbias| = 3?V) and a high UV/visible rejection ratio (more than three orders of magnitude). The peak responsivity of the photodetector is at around 270?nm and a very sharp cutoff wavelength is at a wavelength of about 295?nm corresponding to the absorption edge of the Zn0.6Mg0.4O film.