Formation of Al–N co-doped p-ZnO/n-Si (1 0 0) heterojunction structure by RF co-sputtering technique

Al–N co-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al–N) thin films were grown on n-Si (1 0 0) substrate by RF co-sputtering technique. As-grown ZnO:Al–N film exhibited n-type conductivity whereas on annealing in Ar ambient the conduction of ZnO:Al–N film changes to p-type, typically at 600 °C the high hole concentration of ZnO:Al–N co-doped film was found to be 2.86 × 1019 cm−3 and a low resistivity of 1.85 × 10−2 Ω-cm. The current–voltage characteristics of the obtained p-ZnO:Al–N/n-Si heterojunction showed good diode like rectifying behavior. Room temperature photoluminescence spectra of annealed co-doped films revealed a dominant peak at 3.24 eV.