Effect of Pico Second Laser on Structural and Photoluminescence Properties of Aluminum Doped Zno Film Prepared by Sol Gel Method

Aluminum (Al) doped zinc oxide (Al-doped ZnO) thin films with different Al concentrations were prepared using the sol-gel method and the spin coating technique. The films were irradiated by high power pico-second pulsed laser source of 355 nm with different energy. The laser irradiated Al-doped ZnO films were then characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning microscopy, UV–Vis absorption and photoluminescence techniques. The diffraction pattern indicates increase in crystallinity of ZnO thin films due to the influence of Al doping and laser irradiation. The change in surface morphology of ZnO and Al-doped ZnO films are confirmed by SEM. The absorption spectra of the films show that slightly change in band gap of pure and Al-doped ZnO after the laser treatment. No significant change in band gap with different Al doping percent under laser treatment. Significant influence in photoluminescence (PL) and spontaneous properties of the pure ZnO and Al-doped ZnO thin films by laser energy was observed. The PL and spontaneous intensity of Al-doped ZnO films decreases upon increasing the laser energy which is attributed to effect of nanostructured of the film.