Erroneous p-type assignment by Hall effect measurements in annealed ZnO films grown on InP substrate

We report on incorrect carrier type identification achieved by Hall effect measurements performed on ZnO films grown by pulsed laser deposition on InP substrates and subsequently annealed for 1 h at 600 C in air. While Hall measurements, after post-growth annealing, reveal a change in the electrical properties of the films, from n-type to p-type, both photocurrent-based and standard C V measurements performed on the same samples show no change in the native n-type doping of the ZnO films. A possible interpretation of the two results is reported. In particular, p-type conductivity observed by Hall effect may be ascribed to a highly conductive thin layer formed during the annealing process at…