Effect of heavy Al doping on microstructural and morphological behavior of ZnO thin film deposited by sol-gel spin coating

Undoped and 8 at. % Al doped ZnO films are deposited on glass substrates by sol-gel spin coating. The XRD patterns reveal polycrystalline nature of the films with hexagonal Wurtzite phase. The particle sizes calculated via Debye Scherrer formula lie between 21 to 66 nm. Presence of tensile strain is observed via Williamson Hall analysis. Almost 3.5 times strain enhancement happens when Al dopant is introduced as compared to undoped ZnO. FE-SEM images show the diverse structures when there is no dopant. Al doping causes uniform and even distribution of particle. The strain augmentation out of Al incorporation supports the creation of uniformity in morphology.