Abstract
Mixed thin film oxides of different composition of copper and zinc were prepared by the spray pyrolysis technique. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission, and reflectance spectroscopy and electrical resistivity measurements. Structural analysis showed that a solid solution thin film of the composition (CuO)
1−
x
(ZnO)
x
with
x≤0.1 is formed. At
x≥0.15–0.20 hexagonal transparent crystallites of ZnO is formed between black CuO grains. Covalent shortening is a possible reason for the decrease of the volume of the unit cell of composition with
x≤0.1. The changes of preferred orientation of the crystallites from (020) to (002) for films of composition ZnO≥0.15 affect greatly the film thickness. The variation of resistivity with increasing ZnO content in the film is attributed to the compensation effect between p-type CuO and n-type ZnO.