Activation of p-type conduction in ZnO:N films by annealing in atomic oxygen

ZnO:N epitaxial films have been grown by reactive magnetron sputtering. The effect of annealing in atomic oxygen on the structural and electrical properties of the ZnO:N films has been studied by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, Hall effect measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. By annealing at temperatures from 500 to 700°C, we have obtained p -type ZnO:N films with a resistivity of ∼57 Ω cm, hole mobility of ∼2.7 cm 2 /(V s), and hole concentration of ∼6.8 × 10 17 cm −3 . X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results suggest that the p -type conductivity of the films is due to a decrease in the concentration of (N 2 ) O and V O donors.