A Study of the Structural and Surface Morphology and Photoluminescence of Ni-Doped AlN Thin Films Grown by Co-Sputtering
Mohsin Khan,
Ghazi Aman Nowsherwan,
Aqeel Ahmed Shah,
Saira Riaz,
Muhammad Riaz,
Ali Dad Chandio,
Abdul Karim Shah,
Iftikhar Ahmed Channa,
Syed Sajjad Hussain,
Rashid Ali,
Shahzad Naseem,
Muhammad Ali Shar,
Abdulaziz Alhazaa
Affiliations
Mohsin Khan
Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
Ghazi Aman Nowsherwan
Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
Aqeel Ahmed Shah
Wet Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, University Road, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
Saira Riaz
Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
Muhammad Riaz
Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
Ali Dad Chandio
Wet Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, University Road, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
Abdul Karim Shah
Department of Chemical Engineering, Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi 74800, Pakistan
Iftikhar Ahmed Channa
Wet Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Metallurgical Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, University Road, Karachi 75270, Pakistan
Syed Sajjad Hussain
Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
Rashid Ali
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi 23640, Pakistan
Shahzad Naseem
Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
Muhammad Ali Shar
Department of Mechanical & Energy Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Informatics, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK
Abdulaziz Alhazaa
Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a semiconductor material possessing a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with a large band gap of 6.2 eV. AlN thin films have several potential applications and areas for study, particularly in optoelectronics. This research study focused on the preparation of Ni-doped AlN thin films by using DC and RF magnetron sputtering for optoelectronic applications. Additionally, a comparative analysis was also carried out on the as-deposited and annealed thin films. Several spectroscopy and microscopy techniques were considered for the characterization of structural (X-ray diffraction), morphological (SEM), chemical bonding (FTIR), and emission (PL spectroscopy) properties. The XRD results show that the thin films have an oriented c-axis hexagonal structure. SEM analysis validated the granular-like morphology of the deposited sample, and FTIR results confirm the presence of chemical bonding in deposited thin films. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra exhibit different peaks in the visible region when excited at different wavelengths. A sharp and intense photoluminescence peak was observed at 426 nm in the violet-blue region, which can be attributed to inter-band transitions due to the incorporation of Ni in AlN. Most of the peaks in the PL spectra occurred due to direct-band recombination and indirect impurity-band recombination. After annealing, the intensity of all observed peaks increases drastically due to the development of new phases, resulting in a decrease in defects and a corresponding increase in the crystallinity of the thin film. The observed structural, morphological, and photoluminescence results suggest that Ni: AlN is a promising candidate to be used in optoelectronics applications, specifically in photovoltaic devices and lasers.
