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A Hall-effect study of as-grown and hydrogenerated n-type ZnO layers grown by MOCVD

A series of as-grown ZnO layers have been electrically characterised by the temperature dependent (20 – 300 K) Hall-effect technique. The ZnO layers were grown by metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) on glass substrates under various growth conditions. The temperature dependent Hall-effect technique produced mobility and carrier concentration measurements. These measurements were found to be reproducible and reliable. The carrier concentration data for the layers was fitted by the charge balance equation to accurately determine the donor level and corresponding donor concentration as well as the acceptor concentration for each sample. The measured donor levels were found to vary from sample to sample and there is evidence from the results that the variations are related to the differing growth conditions of the layers. The mobility data was also fitted to establish the dominant electron scattering mechanisms in the layers. The dominant scattering mechanisms were found to vary from sample to sample. For most of the layers studied, the dominant scattering mechanism was found to be both the ionised impurity scattering at low temperatures (20 – 100 K) and grain boundary scattering at higher temperatures (100 – 300 K). The effects of exposing the ZnO layers to hydrogen plasma were also investigated by the temperature dependent Hall-effect technique. Findings indicate that hydrogen is readily incorporated in ZnO, leading always to an increased carrier concentration. It was further noted that incorporating hydrogen into ZnO in some layers increased the mobility while in other layers it caused a decrease in the mobility. The hydrogenated samples were subsequently annealed at 600 °C for 1 hour in argon ambient resulting in the carrier concentration reducing to its original value. This effect is attributed to hydrogen diffusing out of ZnO.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:10535
Date January 2006
CreatorsSomhlahlo, Nomabali Nelisiwe
PublisherNelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Science
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis, Masters, MSc
Format26 pages, pdf
RightsNelson Mandela Metropolitan University

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