Study of Structural, Optical, Electrical and Dielectric Properties of Gd-Doped ZnO Composites Synthesized by Solid State Reaction Method

In this manuscript, we are reporting structural, bonding, optical, dielectric, and electrical properties of Gd-doped ZnO composite samples (Zn1−xGdxO, x = 0, 0.05, 0.10) prepared by solid-state reaction method. XRD spectra confirm the wurtzite hexagonal phase with a grain size distribution of 42 - 47 nm. The FT-IR spectra confirm bonding behavior like Zn-O, O=C=O, and O-H stretching modes. FESEM micrographs show that the grains of crystallites possess nearly spherical morphology. Optical absorption spectra confirm that the optical band gap decreases systematically from 3.19 eV to 3.15 eV for x = 0.0 to x = 0.10 samples. For all samples, PL spectra exhibited near-band emission, blue emission, and green emission peaks. The dielectric constant decreases as the applied frequency increases. Hall effect results show that with increasing doping concentration of Gd, mobility and resistivity increase while bulk concentration decreases. Current-Voltage study shows that current increases when temperature is increased. Rare earth-doped ZnO is potential material used for optoelectronics and spintronics device applications. Properties of Gd-doped ZnO are studied by various research groups, but dielectric studies are limitedly reported. Therefore, the present research work aims to study the change of electrical, optical, and dielectric properties of Gd-doped ZnO for device applications.