IMF2017

3d transition metal doping in ZnO is known to alter the physiochemical properties of ZnO to a great extent. Distinctive chemical stability of nickel on zinc sites, owing to their nearly close ionic radii, recognizes it as one of the most resourceful dopant to tailor material properties of ZnO. A comprehensive analysis of the surface chemistry can provide a deeper insight of the interfacial properties of NiZnO/ZnO system. In the present study, Zn LMM Auger peaks were examined in Pulsed Laser deposited ZnO and NiZnO films on sapphire. LMM Auger transitions give a clear know-how of surface chemical states because a single Auger transition involves three electrons and many body effects. The measurements were made in ultra-high vacuum conditions at a probing angle of . The relative concentration of interstitial zinc (Zn_i) and Zn-O bonds was estimated using area under the corresponding deconvoluted peaks. An enhancement in Auger LMM peak area of Zn_i was observed in case of NiZnO. Since Zn_i is donor impurity, it favours enhanced n-type conduction in the material. Hall-Effect measurements were carried out on ZnO and NiZnO, which revealed n-type conduction in both the systems. NiZnO exhibited relatively higher electron mobility and carrier concentration compared to ZnO, thus validating the XPS results. The optical bandgap of films evaluated using UV-Visible Spectroscopy, showed a decrease in bandgap from 3.28 (ZnO) to 3.16 eV (NiZnO). The obtained results favour the utilization of NiZnO as active well layer and ZnO as barrier layer in NiZnO/ZnO based Quantum Well applications.