Dopant induced modifications in the physical properties of sprayed ZnO:In films

Indium-doped zinc oxide (IZO) films were prepared by the spray pyrolysis technique. The effect of gradual incorporation of indium cations on the structural, electrical, and compositional properties of IZO films was studied in detail. It was observed that even a small addition of indium modifies the preferred growth of IZO film from the [002] direction to the [101] direction. Such a modification in growth pattern is a result of more nucleating centers created by indium doping. Indium dopant improves the electrical properties of the films. The carrier concentration depends mainly on the indium dopant level while the mobility is affected by the changes in crystal orientation that take place due to addition of dopants. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results show that indium doping does not lead to any stoichiometric changes in the IZO films and the dopant incorporation in the film is linearly proportional to that in the solution.