Improved electrical and optical properties in epitaxial Cd2SnO4 films

Epitaxial Cd₂SnO₄ films were fabricated on MgO(00l) single crystalline substrates by pulsed laser deposition technique at various substrate temperatures and growth oxygen pressures. The microstructure, transport, and optical properties of the films were studied in detail. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy results demonstrate that all the Cd₂SnO₄ films are grown epitaxially on MgO(00l) substrates. Atomic force microscope images indicate that the films have smooth surface morphologies. Hall-effect measurements reveal that the epitaxial film grown at 680^°C and 40 Pa presents the minimum resistivity value of 0.61 mΩcm and maximal Hall mobility of 32.87 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. The metal–semiconductor transitions of Cd₂SnO₄ films were observed and explained by competitive effects of two conductive mechanisms. The optical transmittance of the Cd₂SnO₄ films is higher than 75% in the visible and near-infrared range, and the optical bandgap was determined to be about 3.09 eV for the film grown at optimal condition. The band structure and density of states of the Cd₂SnO₄ were calculated by the density functional theory.     

Effect of Mg doping on optical and electrical properties of SnO2 thin films: An experiment and first-principles study

Transparent Mg-doped p-type conductive SnO₂ thin films were fabricated on quartz substrates by sol–gel method. Effect of Mg doping on structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of SnO₂ films were investigated. A single phase of tetragonal rutile structure was observed in Mg-doped SnO₂ films. The optical bandgap energy of the Mg-doped SnO₂ films showed a systematical redshift with respect to the undoped SnO₂ film, and the resistivity significantly increased with the increase of Mg concentration. A conduction type transform from n to p was also observed. The strong ultraviolet and comparatively weak blue/green emissions were observed in room temperature photoluminescence, suggesting the dipole-forbidden rule of bulk SnO₂ is broken in Mg-doped SnO₂ films. These results were supported by first-principles electronic structure calculations.     

Improved electrical and optical characteristics of transparent graphene thin films produced by acid and doping treatments

New thermal and chemical schemes, which include (i) a modified thermal treatment, (ii) acid treatment in a HNO₃ bath and (iii) doping by immersing in a SOBr₂ solution, are developed to treat graphene films to improve the electrical conductivity and transparency. It is shown that a longer thermal treatment at 1100 °C as well as additional acid and doping treatments reduce the sheet resistance by about 20–50% with improved transmittance. The final product has a sheet resistance of 1600 Ω/sq and a transparency of 82%, which is quite sufficient to replace the transparent conducting films made from indium tin oxide for many existing applications in photovoltaic cells and optoelectronics. The transmittance and sheet resistance measured after 3 months of exposure to air confirms the stability of the improved characteristics after the additional treatments.     

The optical and electrical properties of ZnO:Al thin films deposited at low temperatures by RF magnetron sputtering

Several ZnO:Al thin films have been successfully deposited on glass substrates at different substrate temperatures by RF (radio frequency) magnetron sputtering method. Effects of the substrate temperatures on the optical and electrical properties of these ZnO:Al thin films were investigated. The UV–VIS–NIR spectra of the ZnO:Al thin films revealed that the average optical transmittances in the visible range are very high, up to 88%. X-ray diffraction results showed that crystallization of these films was improved at higher substrate temperature. The band gaps of ZnO:Al thin films deposited at 25 ℃, 150 ℃, 200 ℃, and 250 ℃ are 3.59 eV, 3.55 eV, 3.53 eV, and 3.48 eV, respectively. The Hall-effect measurement demonstrated that the electrical resistivity of the films decreased with the increase of the substrate temperature and the electrical resistivity reached 1.990×10^?3 Ω cm at 250 ℃.     

Structural and optical properties of ZnS thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

Zinc sulfide [ZnS] thin films were deposited on glass substrates using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The substrate temperature was varied in the range of 100°C to 400°C. The structural and optical properties of ZnS thin films were characterized with X-ray diffraction [XRD], field emission scanning electron microscopy [FESEM], energy dispersive analysis of X-rays and UV-visible transmission spectra. The XRD analyses indicate that ZnS films have zinc blende structures with (111) preferential orientation, whereas the diffraction patterns sharpen with the increase in substrate temperatures. The FESEM data also reveal that the films have nano-size grains with a grain size of approximately 69 nm. The films grown at 350°C exhibit a relatively high transmittance of 80% in the visible region, with an energy band gap of 3.79 eV. These results show that ZnS films are suitable for use as the buffer layer of the Cu(In, Ga)Se₂ solar cells.     

Structural,electrical and optical properties of molybdenum-doped TiO2 thin films

Molybdenum doped TiO₂ (MTO) thin films were prepared by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering at room temperature and followed by a heat treatment in a reductive atmosphere containing 90% N₂ and 10% H₂. XRD and FESEM were employed to evaluate the microstructure of the MTO films, revealing that the addition of molybdenum enhances the crystallization and increases the grain size of TiO₂ films. The optimal electrical properties of the MTO films were obtained with 3 wt% Mo doping, producing a resistivity of 1.1×10^?3 Ω cm, a carrier density of 9.7×10²⁰ cm^?3 and a mobility of 5.9 cm²/Vs. The refractive index and extinction coefficient of MTO films were also measured as a function of film porosity. The optical band gap of the MTO films ranged from 3.28 to 3.36 eV, which is greater than that of the un-doped TiO₂ film. This blue shift of approximately 0.14 eV was attributed to the Burstein–Moss effect.     

Structure and electrical properties of a-C:H thin films deposited by RF sputtering

We investigated the film structure and the electrical properties of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) thin films. a-C:H thin films were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. Two different RF power sources of 13.56 MHz and 60 MHz were used to deposit the a-C:H films. The bonding hydrogen concentration varied from 1.6 × 10²² cm^? 3 to 8.6 × 10²² cm^? 3. The concentration of incorporated hydrogen atoms varied from 18 to 57 at.%. The optical gap increased from 1.58 eV to 2.56 eV with increasing the hydrogen concentration. The resistivity increased from 10¹³ Ω cm to 10¹⁵ Ω cm with increasing the hydrogen concentration. The permittivity measured at 1 MHz decreased from 5.6 to 2.3 with increasing the hydrogen concentration. These results suggest that the film structure and electrical properties can be controlled by the hydrogen concentration.     

Effect of Ar:N2 flow rate on morphology,optical and electrical properties of CCTO thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

Calcium copper titanate (CCTO) thin films were deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, at selected Ar:N₂ flow rates (1:1, 1:2, 1:4, and 1:6 sccm) at ambient temperature. The effect of Ar:N₂ flow rate on the morphology, optical and electrical properties of the CCTO thin films were investigated using FESEM, XRD, AFM, Hall effect measurement, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. It was confirmed by XRD analysis that the thin films were produced is CCTO with cubic crystal structure. As the flow rate of Ar:N₂ increased up to 1:6 sccm, the thin film thickness reduced from 87 nm to 35 nm while the crystallite size of CCTO thin film decreased from 27 nm to 20 nm. Consequently, the surface roughness of thin film was halved from 8.74 nm to 4.02 nm. In addition, the CCTO thin films deposited at the highest Ar:N₂ flow rate studied, at 1:6 sccm; are having the highest sheet resistivity (13.27 Ω/sq) and the largest optical energy bandgap (3.68 eV). The results articulate that Ar:N₂ flow rate was one of the important process parameters in RF magnetron sputtering that could affect the morphology, electrical properties and optical properties of CCTO thin films.     

Microstructural,optical, and electrical characteristics of Ni/C doped BST thin films

In the present work the effect of simultaneous doping of carbon and nickel on the microstructural, optical, and electrical properties of barium strontium titanate (BST) is investigated. Thin films of BST were prepared by the sol-gel method in six different compositions ((Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)(Ni_xC_yTi_1-x-y)O₃): x?=?y?=?0.00 (BST), x?=?0.04?y?=?0.00 (BST4N), x?=?0.04?y?=?0.01 (BST4N-1C), x?=?0.04?y?=?0.02 (BST4N-2C), x?=?0.04?y?=?0.03 (BST4N-3C), and x?=?y?=?0.04 (BST4N-4C). Structural features and chemical bonds of the films were studied by TGA/DSC, XRD, FT-IR, and FE-SEM. The electrical and optical properties of the films were analysed by impedance spectroscopy and UV–VIS spectroscopy. The results show that addition of Ni and C leads to Ti⁴⁺-Ni²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺-C⁴⁺ replacements, respectively. These replacements lead to a gradual increase in the band gap energy; from 3.15?eV for BST to 3.44, 3.5, 3.66, 3.73 and 3.76?eV for BST4N, BST4N-1C, BST4N-2C, BST4N-3C, and BST4N-4C, respectively. In contrast, the dielectric loss decreases significantly from 0.055 for BST to 0.031, 0.033, 0.03, 0.022 and 0.01 for BST4N, BST4N-1C, BST4N-2C, BST4N-3C, and BST4N-4C, respectively. At the same time, the quality factor Q_f (1/ tanδ) increases substantially from 15 for BST to 32, 30, 33, 44 and 87 for BST4N, BST4N-1C, BST4N-2C, BST4N-3C, and BST4N-4C, respectively. In contrast, the frequency dependence of the capacity decreases in comparison to un-doped BST. Among all films, the BST4N-4C had the highest figure of merit (FOM), least dielectric loss, and very low frequency-dependence, making it the best candidate for tuneable device applications.     

Ultrasonic-vibration-assisted laser annealing of fluorine-doped tin oxide thin films for improving optical and electrical properties: Overlapping rate optimization

An ultrasonic-vibration-assisted laser annealing method was developed to enhance the performance of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) thin films. The influences of ultrasonic vibration, laser scan line overlapping rate (L_OR) and laser spot overlapping rate (S_OR) on surface morphology, FTO layer thickness, RMS roughness, crystal structure and photoelectric properties of the FTO films were investigated. The results indicated that the presence of ultrasonic vibration during laser annealing could significantly enhance the film compactness, and using moderate L_OR and S_OR values resulted in significantly decreased FTO layer thicknesses and RMS roughnesses as well as slightly increased crystallite sizes, thus yielding significantly improved optical transmittance values and slightly enhanced electrical conductivity values. It was found that the optimal L_OR and S_OR values for ultrasonic-vibration-assisted laser annealing of the FTO films were 80% and 90%, respectively. The as-obtained film possessed the best overall photoelectric property with an average transmittance (400–800?nm) of 85.9%, a sheet resistance of 8.7?Ω/sq and a figure of merit of 2.51?×?10^–2 Ω^–1. This work may be of great significance in terms of performance optimization of transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films.     

Structural, optical, electrical and photovoltaic electrochemical characterization of spray deposited NiWO4 thin films

The preparation of nickel tungstate (NiWO₄) thin film by spray pyrolysis (SP) with ammonical solution is presented. The phase and surface morphology characterizations have been carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, respectively. The study of optical absorption spectrum in the wavelength range 350-850 nm shows the presence of direct as well as indirect band gaps in the material, respectively found to be 2.28 and 2.00 eV. The thin film material shows semiconducting behaviour and highly resistive at room temperature as evident from its dc electrical conductivity measurements obtained by the Two Point Probe method in the temperature range 310-500 K. The thin films deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) coated conducting glass substrates are used as photoanode in photovoltaic electrochemical (PVEC) cell. The PVEC cell configuration is: NiWO₄|Ce⁴⁺, Ce³⁺|Pt; 0.1 M in 0.1N H₂SO₄. The PVEC characterization reveals the fill factor and power conversion efficiency to be 0.47 and 0.78%, respectively. The flat band potential is found to be −0.32 V (SCE).     

Structural,electrical and optical properties of stoichiometric In2Te3 thin films

In₂Te₃ thin films were grown by thermal evaporation technique. The annealing of films played a major role to obtain stoichiometry, regardless of substrate temperature. Annealing at 300 ⁰C resulted in well oriented, mono-phased and nearly stoichiometric In₂Te₃ thin films. The variation in grain size of In₂Te₃ films associated with the substrate temperatures provides a significant control over the resistivity of the films, and the resistivity decreased with an increase in the grain size. The activation energy and optical band gap of stoichiometric In₂Te₃ films were found to be 0.01±0.005 eV and 0.99±0.02 eV, respectively. The absorption co-efficient of these films was found to be of the order of 10⁵ cm⁻¹.     

Dispersive optical constants and electrical properties of nanocrystalline CuInS2 thin films prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis

Nanocrystalline CuInS₂ thin films were deposited on borosilicate glass substrates via chemical spray pyrolysis method. The structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties were studied as a function of increasing annealing temperature from 250 to 350 ̊C. XRD analysis showed mixed phases at lower temperatures with the preferred orientation shifting towards the (112) chalcopyrite CuInS₂ plane at higher substrate temperature. The crystallite size increased slightly between 13 and 18 nm with increase in annealing temperature. The optical band gap was determined on basis of Tauc extrapolation method and the Wemple–Di-Domenico single oscillator model. Possible structural and quantum confinement effect may have resulted in relatively larger band gaps of 1.67–2.04 eV, relative to the bulk value of 1.5 eV. The presence of Cu_xS in the as-deposited and wurtzite peaks after annealing at 350 ^̊C play a role in influencing the optical and electrical properties of CuInS₂ thin films.     

二氧化锡薄膜的制备和应用研究进展

介绍了近年来二氧化锡薄膜的制备方法和在功能材料中的应用。探讨了各种方法的特点,提出了今后二氧化锡薄膜的发展趋势和应用前景。     

Structural,electrical, and linear/nonlinear optical characteristics of thermally evaporated molybdenum oxide thin films

Homogeneous thin films of Molybdenum oxide (MoO₃) were grown on quartz and glass substrates using the thermal evaporation method. XRD results showed that the MoO₃ powder has a polycrystalline structure with an orthorhombic crystal system whereas the MoO₃ thin films have amorphous nature. SEM images showed that the MoO₃ thin films have a nearly uniform surfaces with worm-like shape grains. The film thickness influences on the linear and nonlinear optical characteristics of MoO₃ thin films that were examined using spectrophotometric measurements and from which, the linear optical constants of the MoO₃ thin films were estimated. The electronic transition type was determined as a direct allowed one. The values of the optical band gap were obtained to be in the range of 3.88–3.72 eV. The dispersion parameters, third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, and the nonlinear refractive index of the MoO₃ thin films were determined and interpreted in the light of the single oscillator model. The temperature dependence of the DC electrical conductivity and the corresponding conduction mechanism for the MoO₃ films were investigated at temperatures ranging from 303 to 463 K.     

Effect of nickel doping on structural,optical, electrical and ethanol sensing properties of spray deposited nanostructured ZnO thin films

Undoped and nickel (Ni)-doped ZnO thin films were spray deposited on glass substrates at 523 K using 0.1 M of zinc acetate dihydrate and 0.002–0.01 M of nickel acetate tetrahydrate precursor solutions and subsequently annealed at 723 K. The effect of Ni doping in the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of nanostructured ZnO thin film was investigated using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), UV–vis Spectrophotometer and an Electrometer respectively. XRD patterns confirmed the polycrystalline nature of ZnO thin film with hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure and highly oriented along (002) plane. The crystallite size was found to be increased in the range of 15–31 nm as dopant concentration increased. The SEM image revealed the uniformly distributed compact spherical grains and denser in the case of doped ZnO thin films. All the films were highly transparent with average transmittance of 76%. The measured optical band gap was found to be varied from 3.21 to 3.09 eV. The influence of Ni doping in the room temperature ethanol sensing characteristics has also been reported.     

Morphology and optical analysis of defect levels in ultrasonically-sprayed zinc tin oxide thin films

We prepared zinc-doped tin oxide (ZTO) films of various concentrations of zinc using the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique. The surface morphology and roughness were studied by Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscope and atomic force microscope. Systematic x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed that all films have tetragonal rutile structure and mixed preferred orientation along the (200) and (110) planes. The proper substitution of zinc ions into tin sites and the absence of any secondary phase in the films were proved by the analysis of the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The detailed analysis of the optical absorption spectra revealed the presence of four direct optical transitions within the energy range 3.8–5.1 eV. The defect levels of the neutral and double-ionized oxygen vacancy states were determined within the energy bandgap by the comprehensive analysis of the photoluminescence spectra. The existence of high concentration of oxygen vacancies is supported by the XPS results. The observed transitions were used to sketch the band diagram of ZTO films.     

Thermal stability of the optical properties of plasma deposited diamond-like carbon thin films

In present paper we studied the optical constants of the diamond-like carbon (DLC) films and their changes with annealing. The multisample modification of combined variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and near normal spectroscopic reflectometry was used. The optical constants of the DLC films were simulated by our recently published six-parameter dispersion model employing a parameterization of the density of electronic states (DOS). Based on the dispersion model parameters the density of π and σ electrons were evaluated. We showed that from our model and the independently determined hydrogen atomic fraction of the films before and after annealing the ratio between momentum matrix elements of π → π* and σ → σ* transitions and the correct sp³-to-sp² carbon bonding configuration ratio can be calculated. It is worth to notice that the first quantity is usually assumed to be equal to unity but we showed that this assumption may cause a significant error in the determination of the sp³-to-sp² ratio. Therefore, our suggested method represents a novelty in this field.     

Photoluminescence and third-order nonlinear optical limiting properties of Sn1-xNdxO2 thin films deposited via spray pyrolysis

In the present work, spray pyrolysis method was adopted to synthesis nano thin films of Sn_1-xNd_xO₂ (x = 0.01 to 0.1) possessing tetragonal structure with (1 1 0) plane orientation. Nd doping reduced the overall crystallinity of the films, however Sn_0.92Nd_0.08O₂ film showed crystallite size of 18.7 nm, similar to that of the pure film. The morphology changed to distinct grains at lower doping concentration, beyond which a fibrous nature evolved but again changed to smaller grains with further increase in the doping. The oxidation states of the constituent elements were confirmed using XPS. The transmittance of the films reduced due to incorporation of Nd ions. A decrease in the energy band gap was also noticed in the films following dopant addition. The PL emissions corresponding to the Nd ion transitions was found in the NIR region resulting from internal 4f-shell transitions of Nd³⁺ ions. Other defect related emissions like the one from oxygen vacancies also showed up in the UV and visible wavelength regions, which were responsible for a near white light emission. The third-order optical nonlinearity of the films was confirmed using the Z-scan technique. All the Sn_1-xNd_xO₂ films till 8 at. % of doping showed reverse saturable absorption. The highest and lowest nonlinear absorption coefficient was exhibited by Sn_0.92Nd_0.08O₂ and Sn_0.98Nd_0.02O₂ films, respectively. Depending on the Nd concentration, the films either showed self-focusing or self-defocusing behavior and influenced the nonlinear refractive indices of the films. The least optical limiting values among the doped films was obtained in the range of 1.73 kJ/cm² for Sn_0.92Nd_0.08O₂ films.