Effect Of Eu Doping On The Structural, Optical And Electrical Properties Of ZnO Thin Films Deposited By PLD.

Effect of Eu doping on the structural, optical and electrical properties of pulsed laser deposited ZnO thin film is reported. Thin films of Eu doped ZnO (Zn(1-x)EuxO, where, x = 0, 0.01 and 0.03) were deposited on the c-Al2O3 substrate. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study reveals the growth of highly c-axis oriented, single phase Zn(1-x)EuxO thin films which are strained, when compared with ZnO thin film. Eu doping activates the silent Raman modes of ZnO viz. B1L and 2B1L, due to breakdown of local translation symmetry. Optical investigations show a blue shift in the band gap of Zn(1-x)EuxO thin films. Hall measurements indicate that the charge carrier concentration has increased from 1017 cm-3 (for ZnO) to 1019 cm-3 (for Zn0.97Eu0.03O) thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]