Effects of Al and Mn Dopant on Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Film Prepared by Sol-Gel Route

Undoped, 10 wt% Al and 10 wt% Mn doped ZnO thin films were deposited on a glass substrate by sol-gel dip coating. Al ions played an important role in improvement of the c-axis orientation, while Mn ions inhibited the growth along c-axis. The average grain size decreased when doping ZnO with Al and Mn. The smallest average grain size was 25 nm, obtained with 10 wt% Mn doping. The band gap values of prepared thin films varied in the range of 3.24 - 3.96 eV.