Y-Doping Effect on ZnO Properties

Thin films of ZnO pure and doped by yttrium (Y) were deposited on glass substrate by the spin-coating method. The diffraction of the X-rays reveals the hexagonal crystalline structure with a preferential orientation of the crystallites (002) for the ZnO pure and (100) for ZnO-doped Y. The transparency of the thin film of ZnO in the visible region is significantly reduced by 90% at 75% after the incorporation of Y in the matrix of ZnO. The grain size of the film decreased from 21 to 10 nm. The widening of the prohibited optical band of 3.26–3.35 eV, that is to say is attributed to a combination of the Burstein–Moss effect and electrical-impure diffusion. The results obtained confirm that the Y-doping has considerable effects on the properties of thin films by ZnO and can be used as a promising transparent driver oxide film for optoelectronic applications.