Cupric oxide (CuO)/zinc oxide (ZnO) heterojunction diode with low turn-on voltage

The p-n junction is the fundamental form of an electronic semiconductor device. A p-CuO/n-ZnO heterojunction diode was formed by using thermal evaporation and thermal oxidation techniques. Cupric oxide (CuO) films of 300 µm in thickness were obtained by thermal oxidation of Cu foils. Zinc oxide (ZnO) films of 30 µm in thickness were prepared in two process steps: firstly, thermal evaporation of Zn at atmospheric pressure, and then thermal oxidation to Zn films. The p-CuO/n-ZnO heterojunction diode was formed by performing the steps of ZnO deposition on the surface of the CuO films, and completed by deposition of silver electrical contacts on the top and on the bottom sides of the heterostructure. Structural, morphological, and electrical properties of CuO and ZnO were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Uv–Vis DRS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Hall effect techniques. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements were performed to the p-CuO/n-ZnO heterojunction diode. Structural characterization to CuO confirmed that pure, crystalline and (1 1 1) textured films can be obtained by thermal oxidation of Cu. ZnO films showed a polycrystalline structure without preferred orientation. The band gap of CuO and ZnO were 1.51 and 3.21 eV, respectively. Cross-sectional SEM and TEM images confirmed the formation of the p-CuO/n-ZnO heterojunction diode. Hall measurements confirmed the p-type conductivity of CuO and the n-type conductivity of ZnO. Also, the carrier concentration and Hall mobility of CuO films were 9.54 × 10¹² cm⁻³ and 267 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. ZnO films exhibited a carrier concentration and Hall mobility of 3.69 × 10¹² cm⁻³ and 22.18 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. The I-V measurement showed that the p-CuO/n-ZnO heterojunction exhibits a low turn-on voltage of about 0.8 V and a breakdown voltage of about 38 V. Electrical parameter such as rectification ratio and ideality factor were also calculated. An energy band-diagram of the CuO/ZnO heterojunction was proposed, where a built-in voltage of 0.57 eV was observed.