Nitrogen doped ZnO thin films prepared by photo-assisted metal-organic chemical vapor deposition.

Nitrogen-doped ZnO (ZnO:N) films were prepared by photo-assisted metal-organic chemical vapor deposition technique using NH3 as N doping source. The effects of in-situ light irradiation on the properties of ZnO:N films were studied by Hall measurements, X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that stable p-type ZnO:N films with a hole concentration of 3.61 x 10(17) cm(-3) was successfully achieved. Moreover, introducing proper in-situ light irradiation during the growth process can not only effectively improve the crystalline quality of ZnO films, but also enhance the activity of (N)o (N occupies O site) acceptors by removing the undesirable hydrogen atoms from ZnO:N films. Both effects are benefit for the p-type conductivity formation. Our results indicate that photo-assisted MOCVD maybe an effective technology to realize device-quality p-type ZnO:N films.