Effects of Mg incorporation on the optical properties of ZnO prepared by the sol-gel method

ZnO films with and without Mg doping (Zn1-xMgxO) were deposited on substrates by the sol-gel technique. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and conductivity measurements were used to characterize the Zn1-xMgxO semiconductors. It is worth noting that the intensity of the band-edge luminescence (BEL) of the Zn0.973Mg0.027O film at room temperature was nearly six times the ZnO film. The enhanced BEL intensity has been attributed to the suppression of capacitance variation related to trapping/detrapping of charges, a decrease in the number of nonradiative recombination defects, and an increase in the nonradiative recombination lifetime. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.