LAUSR

Abstract Zn0.99Mn0.01O thin films were deposited on borosilicate glass at different temperatures and precursor concentration using cost-effective chemical spray pyrolysis. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that all the deposits had a hexagonal wurtzite structure with (0 0 2) preferred orientation. The variation of deposition temperature and precursor concentration slightly modified the crystallite size and lattice parameters. The compositional analysis by Energy dispersive X-ray analysis indicated the presence of zinc and manganese. The films deposited at 723 K using 0.0125 M precursor exhibited ~90% transmittance in the visible region. The optical energy band-gap reduced when both deposition temperature and solution molarity were increased probably due to sp-d exchange interactions. All deposited films showed two emission peaks that is near band edge and deep level emissions in ultraviolet and visible region respectively. All films showed n-type electrical conductivity. The observed changes were due to the variation in charge carrier density and mobility in the films. Low-temperature magnetic studies showed that the films were super-paramagnetic when deposited using low precursor concentration while they were weakly ferromagnetic when deposited using higher precursor concentration.