Comparison of the physical properties of zinc oxide and gallium doped zinc oxide thin films sputtered by RF magnetron technique

In this thesis, the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of undoped and Ga-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films produced by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique were investigated. As a result of structural investigations, XRD patterns of undoped and Ga-doped ZnO thin films were observed to have c-orientation in hexagonal wurtzite structure. The surface images of the thin films produced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were observed to have a homogeneous, compact and void-free structure. The root mean square values (RMS) of the surface roughness of the samples produced by atomic force microscopy (AFM) were measured and compared. Furthermore, optical analysis revealed that the forbidden energy range of the thin films decreases with Ga doping. In addition, the electrical properties of the films were also measured using the four point probe method and temperature dependent conductivity measurements using dark and different light intensities.