Nitrogen-related local vibrational modes in ZnO:N

Abstract

We study the influence of nitrogen, a potential acceptor in ZnO, on the lattice dynamics of ZnO. A series of samples grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) containing different nitrogen concentrations, as determined by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), was investigated. The Raman spectra revealed vibrational modes at 275, 510, 582, 643, and 856 cm−1 in addition to the host phonons of ZnO. The intensity of these additional modes correlates linearly with the nitrogen concentration and can be used as a quantitative measure of nitrogen in ZnO. These modes are interpreted as local vibrational modes. Furthermore, SIMS showed a correlation between the concentration of incorporated nitrogen and unintentional hydrogen, similar to the incorporation of the p-dopant magnesium and hydrogen in GaN during metalorganic CVD.