Structural and Optical Properties of Sol–Gel-Spin Coating Nanostructured Cadmium Zinc Nickel Phosphate (CZNP) Film and the Current Transport Properties of CZNP/p-Si-Based Diode

Abstract In this work, the growth of CdZnNiPO (CZNP) thin films on glass and p-Si substrates using the sol–gel spin coating method was successfully achieved. The structure, and morphology of the CZNP films were analyzed using XRD and FE-SEM. The optical absorbance behavior, energy gap, refractive indices, optical dielectric, optical conductivity, and optical electronegativity of the films were studied using the UV–Vis optical spectroscopy technique. XRD analysis shows that zinc phosphate accommodates cadmium ions by replacing zinc ions in the unit cell, resulting in oxygen vacancies that maintain charge neutrality. Scanning electron microscope images reveal the presence of a highly interconnected and well-organized nano CZNP framework. The optical absorption studies of CZNP films were conducted in the wavelength range of 190–2500 nm. The results show both direct and indirect energy band gaps of 1.69 and 2.89 eV, respectively, were employed in the prepared system. The current–voltage-temperature (I-V-T) characteristics of the CZNP/p-Si junction was analyzed in dark mode. The device transport ideality factor, barrier height, and series resistance were identified.