Ab-initio valence band spectra of Al, In doped ZnO

Abstract

We present the structural and electronic characterization of n-doped (Aluminium or Indium) ZnO and the effect of the doping on the calculated photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) spectra. The fully-relaxed calculations have been made using the density functional theory, including a Hubbard correlation term that increases the Zn-3d states binding energy, and which matches the experimental values. The effect of Oxygen vacancies is also included in our study. Our results show that the new Al or In-donor levels appearing in the conduction band hybridize with the Oxygen-2p states and help decrease the resistivity of these doped systems as was found experimentally. The calculated PES spectra show a small enhancement in the intensity close to the chemical potential as a result of these new Al or In levels.