Evaluation of the Structure–Micromorphology Relationship of Co 10% –Al x Co-doped Zinc Oxide Nanostructured Thin Films Deposited by Pulsed Laser Using XRD and AFM

The structure–morphology relationship of (Co, Al) co-doped ZnO thin films was investigated. This system was chosen because of its potential in several technological applications such as solar cells, transparent electrodes, ultraviolet light-emitting devices, ferromagnetism, and so on. The films were deposited via pulsed laser deposition using aerogel nanopowder targets. The structure and microstructure of the nanopowders were investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy that revealed nanoparticles with wurtzite-like structure, crystallites ranging from 30.7 to 23.4 nm, and prismatic shape. The fabricated films have a thickness of ~ 300 nm, and there is a preferential orientation in the (002) direction. Atomic force microscopy topographical maps reveal that the film surface grains decrease when the aluminum (Al) content increases, but the roughness does not present a significant variation. The texture isotropy and fractal dimension of the films increase for higher Al contents. The combination of these results reveals that there is a structure–micromorphology dependence promoted by the insertion of Al in the ZnO lattice, which can be useful to find unique manufacture patterns in devices based on this semiconductor film.