The Effect of Sb Doping Concentration on the Structure and Morphology of ZnO:Sb Thin Films (a) Motlan*, (b) Karya Sinulingga, (c) Nurdin Siregar
Physics Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Universitas Negeri Medan. (a) (b) (c)
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the influence of antimony (Sb) doping concentration on the structural characteristics and morphological properties of ZnO:Sb thin films for enhanced optoelectronic applications. ZnO:Sb thin films with varying Sb doping concentrations (2.0%, 2.5%, 3.0%, 3.5%, and 4.0%) were synthesized and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD analysis confirmed that Sb doping maintains the wurtzite crystal structure of ZnO while significantly affecting structural parameters. Crystal size decreased progressively from 35.2 nm at 2.0% Sb to 31.2 nm at 3.0% concentration. SEM morphological analysis demonstrated distinct surface modifications with varying Sb concentrations. The films exhibited uniform grain distribution at lower concentrations, with morphological changes becoming more pronounced at higher doping levels. The study reveals that optimal Sb doping concentrations around 2.5%-3.0% provide favorable structural and morphological characteristics for potential applications in dye-sensitized solar cells and other optoelectronic devices.
