Optical properties of Mg0.05Zn0.95O/SiO2 nanocomposite films prepared by sol–gel technique

Mg_0.05Zn_0.95O/SiO₂ nanocomposite films in the molar ratio 25:75 consisting of Mg_0.05Zn_0.95O nanoparticles embedded in a dielectric matrix were prepared by sol–gel technique (spin coating). Optical transmittance, Raman effect and photoluminescence measurements of the composites indicated effective capping of the Mg_0.05Zn_0.95O nanoparticles (radii 1. 61–1.68 nm) in the host showing practically no variation of particle size with the post deposition annealing treatments. The blue shift of the band gap (4.29–4.23 eV) from that of bulk Mg_0.05Zn_0.95O indicated strong carrier confinement for samples annealed at T ≤ 873 K. Highly intense UV emission ( ∼ 4.14 eV) compared to that of defect related emission (2.59 eV) at room temperature was obtained by incorporating 5% Mg in ZnO.