Microstructural properties of phosphorus-doped p-type ZnO grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering

Phosphorus (P)-doped ZnO thin films were grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering to study the microstructural properties of p-type ZnO. As-grown P-doped ZnO, a semi-insulator, was converted to p-type ZnO after being annealed at 800°C in an N2 ambient. X-ray diffraction, secondary-ion-mass spectrometry, and Hall effect measurements indicated that P2O5 phases in as-grown P-doped ZnO disappeared after thermal annealing to form a substitutional P at an O lattice site, which acts as an acceptor in P-doped ZnO. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the formation of stacking faults was facilitated to release the strain in P-doped ZnO during post-thermal annealing.