Production and recovery of defects in phosphorus-implanted ZnO

Abstract

Phosphorus ions were implanted in ZnO single crystals with energies of 50–380keV having total doses of 4.2×1013–4.2×1015cm−2. Positron annihilation measurements reveal the introduction of vacancy clusters after implantation. These vacancy clusters grow to a larger size after annealing at a temperature of 600°C. Upon further annealing up to a temperature of 1100°C, the vacancy clusters gradually disappear. Raman-scattering measurements reveal the enhancement of the phonon mode at approximately 575cm−1 after P+ implantation, which is induced by the production of oxygen vacancies (VO). These oxygen vacancies are annealed out up to a temperature of 700°C accompanying the agglomeration of vacancy clusters. The light emissions of ZnO are suppressed after implantation. This is due to the competing nonradiative recombination centers introduced by implantation. The recovery of the light emission occurs at temperatures above 600°C. The vacancy-type defects detected by positrons might be part of the nonradiative recombination centers. The Hall measurement indicates an n-type conductivity for the P+-implanted ZnO layer, suggesting that phosphorus is an amphoteric dopant.