Realization of p-type conduction in undoped MgxZn1−xO thin films by controlling Mg content

Undoped MgxZn1−xO thin films with Mg content of 0⩽x⩽0.20 were grown on c-sapphire substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The MgxZn1−xO shows n-type conduction in Mg content of x⩽0.05, and the carrier concentration decreases slowly from 1018to1017cm−3 with increasing Mg content. However, as x⩾0.10, the MgxZn1−xO begins to show p-type conduction, and the carrier concentration goes down sharply to 1015cm−3 firstly and then increases slowly with increasing Mg content from 1015to1016cm−3. The mechanism of transformation from n to p type and change of the carrier concentrations with Mg content were investigated by photoluminescence and absorption measurements as well as first-principle calculation.