Incorporation of boron in ZnO film from an aqueous solution containing zinc nitrate and dimethylamine-borane by electrochemical reaction

Abstract Conductive zinc oxide (ZnO) films with a thickness of 1.5 μm on non-conductive glass substrates were prepared by chemical deposition followed by electrochemical growth in a zinc nitrate (Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O) aqueous solution containing dimethylamine-borane (DMAB) at 333 K. The electrochemically grown ZnO film exhibited a decrease in resistivity and a remarkable increase in carrier concentration and mobility of ZnO films, as compared with those of ZnO film prepared by chemical deposition only. A ZnO film electrochemically grown at a cathodic potential of −0.8 V showed resistivity of 7.8×10 −3 Ωcm with carrier concentration of 4.21×10 19 cm −3 and carrier mobility of 86 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . The carrier concentration strongly related to the amount of boron atoms, which originated from DMAB and acted as a donor in ZnO film.