X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopic Study of 120 MeV $Ag^{9+}$ Ion-Irradiated N-Doped ZnO Thin Films

We report the electronic structure modification in the swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiated N-doped ZnO thin films prepared by RF sputtering from ZnO target in different ratio of Ar/$N_2$ gas mixture using highly pure $N_2$ gas. The different N-ZnO thin lms were then irradiated with 120 MeV Ag ion beam with different doses ranging from $1{\times}10^{11}$ to $5{\times}10^{12}$ ions/$cm^2$ and characterized by XRD and near edge X-ray absorption ne structure (NEXAFS) at N and O K-edges. The NEXAFS measurements provide direct evidence of O 2p and Zn 3d orbital hybridization and also the bonding of N ions with Zn and O ions. The minimum value of resistivity of $790{\Omega}cm$, a Hall mobility of $22cm^2V^-1s^-1$ and the carrier concentration of $3.6{\times}10^{14}cm^{-3}$ were yielded at 75% $N_2$. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed that N-doped ZnO films had the preferential orientation of (002) plane for all samples, while crystallinity start decreasing at 32.5% $N_2$. The average crystallite size varies from 5.7 to 8.2 nm for 75% and then decreases to 7.8 nm for 80% $Ar:N_2$ ratio.