Effects of nitrogen and oxygen partial pressure on the structural and optical properties of ZnO:N thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Nitrogen doped ZnO films were prepared by magnetron sputtering. We studied the influence of nitrogen partial pressure p_n and oxygen partial pressure p_o on the microstructure, morphology and optical properties of the thin films. The results show that different defects influence the structure and optical behavior of the films. Doping-related tensile stress turns compressive, owing to a different N-doping form in the films. Red-shift of absorption edge was observed with increasing p_n and decreasing p_o. Band-gap narrowing is improved by increasing nitrogen substitute and oxygen vacancies.