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Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on p-silicon (Si) substrate from ammonium zincate bath following a chemical dipping technique called SILAR. Films in the thickness range 0.5-4.5 µm could be prepared by varying the number of dipping for a fixed concentration (0.125 M) of zincate bath and fixed pH (11.00-11.10). Higher values of dipping produced nonadherent and poor quality films. Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates the formation of polycrystalline single phase ZnO with strong c-axis orientation. The structural characteristics of the films were found to be a sensitive function of film thickness. The degree of orientation was found to be a function of film thickness and a maximum was found at around 2.2 µm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals the formation of sub-micrometer crystallites on silicon substrate. The coverage of crystallites (grains) on substrate surface increases with number of dipping. Dense film containing grains distributed throughout the surface is obtained at large thicknesses. The ohmic nature of silver (Ag) on ZnO and Aluminum (Al) on p-Si was confirmed by I-V measurements. I-V characteristic of the p-Si/n-ZnO heterojunction was studied and rectification was observed. The maximum value of forward to reverse current ratio was ~15 at 3.0 V.

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Cadmium-doped zinc oxide (Cd : ZnO) thin films were deposited from sodium zincate bath following a chemical dipping technique called successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction reveals that polycrystalline nature of the films increases with increasing cadmium incorporation. Particle size evaluated using X-ray line broadening analysis shows decreasing trend with increasing cadmium impurification. The average particle size for pure ZnO is 36•73 nm and it reduces to 29•9 nm for 10% Cd:ZnO, neglecting strain broadening. The strong preferred c-axis orientation is lost due to cadmium doping and degree of polycrystallinity of the films also increases with increasing Cd incorporation. Incorporation of cadmium was confirmed from elemental analysis using EDX. The optical bandgap of the films decreases with increasing Cd dopant. The value of fundamental absorption edge is 3•18 eV for pure ZnO and it decreases to 3•11 eV for 10% Cd:ZnO.

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