Sushama, S.Murkute, P.Ghadi, H.Pandey, S.K.Chakrabarti, S.2026-02-052021Journal of Luminescence, 2021, 238, , pp. -222313https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jlumin.2021.118221https://idr.nitk.ac.in/handle/123456789/23056The inherent n-type nature of zinc oxide (ZnO) and its unstable p-type behavior with single dopant species have encouraged researchers to explore the effect of multiple dopants as a viable solution for long-term stability and repeatability. Herein, we report boron (B) and phosphorus (P) co-doped ZnO thin films engineered through an optimized ion implantation technique followed by annealing at 1000 °C in oxygen ambiance. We investigated their structural, chemical, and optical properties to capture the effect of both boron implantation duration and annealing temperature. Co-doping with boron was observed to boost phosphorus incorporation in the film. Compared with P-doping, P–B co-doping increased the dominance of acceptor-bound exciton peak and also, suppressed non-radiative/visible emission which is due to reduced Madelung energy. After high-temperature annealing at 1000 °C, further narrowing of optical emission peaks generated due to acceptor incorporation was observed. Also, the co-doped samples showed stability in the acceptor behavior for more than one year. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.BoronConvergence of numerical methodsII-VI semiconductorsIon implantationMetallic filmsOptical filmsOptical propertiesOxide filmsPhosphorusPlasma applicationsPlasma stabilitySemiconductor dopingThin filmsZinc oxideCo-dopedCo-dopingDoped zinc oxide thin filmsHigh-temperature annealingIons implantationOptical-Plasma immersionPropertyRF sputteringZinc oxide thin filmsAnnealing