Compositional effects on the optical properties of Gex Sb40−x Se60 thin films

Ge_x Sb_40−x Se₆₀ (x = 0, 2.42 and 23.41 at.%) thin chalcogenide films were deposited on glass and quartz substrates by the conventional thermal evaporation technique at 300 K. The chemical composition of the bulk material and as-deposited films were determined by energy dispersive analysis X-ray spectrometry (EDAX). X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) of Ge_x Sb_40−x Se₆₀ (x = 0, 2.42 and 23.41 at.%) thin films indicates that they have amorphous structure. The optical transmission and reflection spectra were measured in the range of 500 to 2500 nm. The optical absorption coefficient spectra were studied for deposited samples. It is observed that the optical absorption edge shift to higher energy range, as the germanium content, x, increases in the film. The type of electronic transition, responsible for the optical properties, is indirect allowed transition. It is found that the optical band gap increases as the Ge content increases.The average coordination number (N_c) in Ge_x Sb_40−x Se₆₀ films increases, but the number of chalcogenide atoms remains constant. The number of Ge - Se bonds and the average bond energy of the system increase with the increase of the average coordination number. The optical band gap, E_g, increases with the increase of the average coordination number, (N_c). Also the energy gap, E₀₄, is discussed in terms of its relation to the chemical composition. The dispersion of the refractive index (n) is discussed in terms of the Single Oscillator Model (SOM) (Wimple - Didomenico model). The single oscillator energy (E₀), the dispersion energy (E_d) and the optical dielectric constant (?_∞) are also estimated.     

Influence of laser-irradiation on the optical constants Se75S25 − xCdx thin films

Amorphous thin films of glassy alloys of Se₇₅S_25 − xCd_x (x = 2, 4 and 6) were prepared by thermal evaporation onto chemically cleaned glass substrates. Optical absorption and reflection measurements were carried out on as-deposited and laser-irradiated thin films in the wavelength region of 500-1000 nm. Analysis of the optical absorption data shows that the rule of no-direct transitions predominates. The laser-irradiated Se₇₅S_25 − xCd_x films showed an increase in the optical band gap and absorption coefficient with increasing the time of laser-irradiation. The results are interpreted in terms of the change in concentration of localized states due to the shift in Fermi level. The value of refractive index increases decreases with increasing photon energy and also by increasing the time of laser-irradiation. With the large absorption coefficient and change in the optical band gap and refractive index by the influence of laser-irradiation, these materials may be suitable for optical disc application.     

Different microstructure and dielectric properties of Ba1−xCaxTiO3 ceramics and pulsed-laser-ablated films

A comparative study of the microstructure and dielectric properties between Ba_1−xCa_xTiO₃ (BCT) ceramics and films were performed in the whole Ca concentration range of x = 0-1. The ceramics were prepared by conventional solid-state reaction technique and the films by the method of pulsed-laser deposition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study of the BCT ceramics exhibited a pure tetragonal phase for x = 0-0.25, a tetragonal-orthorhombic diphase for x = 0.25-0.85 and a pure orthorhombic phase for x = 0.90-1.00. And the dielectric phase transition temperature from tetragonal to cubic was marginally affected by the Ca doping into BaTiO₃. However, BCT films deposited on Pt/Si/SiO₂/Si substrates showed a different microstructure and dielectric properties. Tetragonal-orthorhombic diphase was not found in the BCT films for x = 0.25-0.85, and a large decrease of the Curie point and diffuse phase transition were observed in the BCT films. Based on the compositional analysis, such phenomena were ascribed to the occupancy of some Ca²⁺ to the Ti⁴⁺ sites in the BCT films.     

Optical properties of Cd1−xZnxS thin films for CuInGaSe2 solar cell application

The photovoltaic Cd_1−xZn_xS thin films, fabricated by chemical bath deposition, were successfully used as n-type buffer layer in CuInGaSe₂ (CIGS) solar cells. Comprehensive optical properties of the Cd_1−xZn_xS thin films were measured and modeled by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), which is proven to be an excellent and non-destructive technique to determine optical properties of thin films. The optical band gap of Cd_1−xZn_xS thin films can be tuned from 2.43 eV to 3.25 eV by controlling the Zn content (x) and deposition conditions. The wider-band-gap Cd_1−xZn_xS film was found to be favorable to improve the quantum efficiency in the wavelength range of 450-550 nm, resulting in an increase of short-circuits current for solar cells. From the characterization of quantum efficiency (QE) and current-voltage curve (J-V) of CIGS cells, the Cd_1−xZn_xS films (x = 0.32, 0.45) were demonstrated to significantly enhance the photovoltaic performance of CIGS solar cell. The highest efficiency (10.5%) of CIGS solar cell was obtained using a dense and homogenous Cd_0.68Zn_0.32S thin film as the buffer layer.     

Effect of the substrate on the electrodeposition of Bi2Te3−ySey thin films

The potentiostatic electrodeposition of n-type Bi₂Te_3−ySe_y thermoelectric films onto stainless steel and gold substrates from nitric acid aqueous solutions has been carried out at room temperature. The cathodic process during the electrodeposition of Bi₂Te_3−ySe_y films was investigated by cyclic voltammetric experiments. The structure and surface morphology of Bi₂Te_3−ySe_y films deposited on both substrates were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and environment scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Electrical and thermoelectric properties of as-deposited films were also measured at room temperature. The results show that the reduction process under the same depositing conditions on gold and stainless steel substrates is very different. On gold substrates, H₂SeO₃ in the electrolyte is firstly reduced to elemental Se, and then the deposited Se reacts with HTeO₂⁺ and Bi³⁺ to form Bi₂Te_3−ySe_y alloy. On stainless steel substrates, HTeO₂⁺ in the electrolyte is firstly replaced by elemental Fe to produce elemental Te, and subsequently the generated Te reacts with H₂SeO₃ and Bi³⁺ to form Bi₂Te_3−ySe_y alloy. Analysis of ESEM show that the surface morphology of the films electrodeposited on gold substrates is more compact than that on stainless steel substrates. The XRD patterns indicate that the films electrodeposited on both substrates exhibit preferential orientation along (1 1 0) plane, but the relative peak intensity of (0 1 5) and (2 0 5) planes on stainless steel substrates is stronger than that on gold substrates. The Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity of the films deposited on stainless steel substrates are higher than that on gold substrates.     

Optical characterization of vacuum evaporated a-Se80Te20−xCux thin films

Thin films of a-Se₈₀Te_20−xCu_x (where x=2, 6, 8 and 10) were deposited on glass substrates by vacuum evaporation technique. The absorbance, reflectance and transmittance of as-deposited thin films were measured in the wavelength region 400-1000 nm. The optical band gap and optical constants of amorphous thin films have been studied as a function of photon energy. The optical band gap increases on incorporation of copper in Se₈₀Te_20−xCu_x system. The value of refractive index (n) decreases while the value of the extinction coefficient (k) increases with increasing photon energy. The results are interpreted in terms of concentration of localized states.     

Leakage current characteristics of Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3 − xZrxO12 thin films

Thin films of Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti₃O₁₂ (BNT) and Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti_3 − xZr_xO₁₂ (BNTZ_x, x = 0.1 and 0.2) were fabricated on Pt/TiO₂/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by a chemical solution deposition (CSD) technique at 700 °C. Structures, surface morphologies, leakage current characteristics and Curie temperature of the films were studied as a function of Zr ion content by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, ferroelectric test system and thermal analysis, respectively. Experimental results indicate that Zr ion substitution in the BNT film markedly decreases the leakage current of the film, while almost not changing the Curie temperature of the film, which is at about 420-460 °C. The decrease of the leakage current in BNTZ_x films is that the conduction by the electron hopping between Ti⁴⁺ and Ti³⁺ ions is depressed because Zr⁴⁺ ions can block the path between two adjacent Ti ions and enlarge hopping distance.     

Study of the Al-grading effect in the crystallisation of chalcopyrite CuIn1−xAlxSe2 thin films

Chalcopyrite CuIn_1−xAl_xSe₂ (CIAS) thin films with an atomic ratio of Al/(In + Al) = 0.4 were grown by a two-stage process onto soda-lime glass substrates. The selenisation was carried out at different temperatures, ranging from 400 °C to 550 °C, for metallic precursors layers evaporated with two different sequences. The first sequence, C1, was evaporated with the Al as the last layer, while in the second one, C2, the In was the last evaporated element. The optical, structural and morphological characterisations led to the conclusion that the precursors sequence determines the crystallisation pathway, resulting in C1 the best option due to the homogeneity of the depth distribution of the elements. The influence of the selenisation temperature was also studied, finding 540 °C as the optimum one, since it allows to achieve the highest band gap value for the C1 sequence and for the given composition.     

Effect of some metallic impurities on the density of localized states in a-Se80Te20 thin films

The present paper reports the d.c. conductivity measurements at high electric fields in vacuum-evaporated thin films of amorphous Se₈₀Te₂₀, Se₇₅Te₂₀Ge₅ and Se₇₅Te₂₀Sb₅ systems. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics have been measured at various fixed temperatures. In all the samples, at low electric fields ohmic behavior is observed. However, at high electric fields (E∼10⁴ V/cm), non-ohmic behavior is observed. An analysis of the experimental data confirms the presence of space charge limited conduction (SCLC) in all the glassy materials studied in the present case. From the fitting of the data to the theory of SCLC, the density of defect states (DOS) near Fermi level is calculated. The role of the aforesaid impurities in a-Se₈₀Te₂₀ is found to be entirely different. In case of Sb, an increase in DOS is observed. However, a decrease is observed in case of Ge. The change in DOS on impurity incorporation is explained in terms of the change in structure of these glasses.     

Carrier induced magnetism in dilute Fe doped Ge1−xSbx thin films

Thin films of Fe_0.01Ge_1−xSb_x (x = 0.01, 0.05, 0.10) alloys were prepared by thermal evaporation technique. Characterization of these thin films was done using High Resolution X-Ray Diffraction (HRXRD), Two Probe Resistivity measurement, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) respectively. The resistivity results show that activation energy increases with increase in Sb concentration. The low temperature conduction is explained by Variable Range-Hopping mechanism, which fits very well for the whole temperature range. The Arrhenius plot reveals semiconducting behavior. The AFM images of alloys show almost uniform particle size distribution with average particle size varying from 35 to 60 nm with increase in Sb concentration. The MFM images corresponding to the AFM images show the films exhibiting ferromagnetic interactions at room temperature. The average magnetic domain sizes were observed to increase from 43 to 68 nm with increase in Sb concentration from x = 0.01 to x = 0.10.     

Reactively sputtered GaAsxN1−x thin films

Thin films of GaAs_xN_1−x alloys were deposited by reactive rf magnetron sputtering of GaAs target with a mixture of argon and nitrogen as the sputtering gas. Growth rate was found to decrease from ∼ 7 μm/h to ∼ 2 μm/h as the nitrogen content increased from 0% to 40%. XRD and TEM studies of the films reveal the presence of hexagonal GaN with a significant increase of the lattice parameters in a narrow range of composition of the sputtering gas (5-10% nitrogen), which is attributed to the incorporation of arsenic. The limited availability of nitrogen in the sputtering atmosphere is found to encourage the incorporation of arsenic in the alloy films. Optical absorption coefficient spectra of the films were obtained from reflection and transmission data. The effect of arsenic incorporation is seen in the optical absorption spectra of the films, which show a continuous shift of the absorption edge to lower energies with respect to that of gallium nitride.     

Microstructure of Co2CrxFe1−xAl thin films for magneto-electronic applications

Thin films of the Heusler alloy Co₂Cr_0.6Fe_0.4Al have been prepared by means of magnetron sputtering under varying conditions (sputter power, sputter pressure and substrate temperature). All the films are polycrystalline with the cubic B2 structure. The extent of Co-Al antisite defects, lattice constants, internal stress states are influenced by the sputter conditions which is related to differences in the saturation magnetization. The magnetic moment can be increased by additional annealing up to an optimum temperature of 400 °C, but does not reach the theoretically predicted value. Above 600 °C the metastable B2 phase transforms into either (ε)-Co/Cr or (α)-Co/Cr.     

Steady state and transient photoconductivity measurements in a-Se90 − xSb10Inx thin films

Amorphous thin films of Se_90 − xSb₁₀In_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 15) have been prepared by electron beam evaporation method. The steady state and transient photoconductivity measurements on the thin films of Se_90 − xSb₁₀In_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 15) were carried out at different levels of light intensities (500 lx-5000 lx) at room temperature (301 K). The plot of photocurrent (I_ph) versus light intensity (F) follows a power law I_ph ∝ F^γ. The value of exponent γ lies between 0.5 and 1.0, which indicates there exists a continuous distribution of localized states in the mobility gap of Se_90 − xSb₁₀In_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 15) thin films. For transient photoconductivity, when the samples were illuminated with light, the photocurrent reaches the maximum value during the first 5 s of exposure time and thereafter, it starts decreasing and becomes stable after 15 min of exposure. This kind of phenomenon is termed as photo-degradation of photocurrent. The results have been explained on the basis of charged defect model and the intercluster interaction model. The magnitude of photocurrent of the system a-Se₇₅Sb₁₀In₁₅ is higher than the parent system a-Se₉₀Sb₁₀. The photosensitivity shows a minimum value at 5 atomic percentage of indium (In) concentration, which is explained based on chemically ordered network model and the topological model.     

The effect of strain on nonlinear temperature dependence of resistivity in SrMoO3 and SrMoO3−xNx films

Highly oriented SrMoO₃ thin films have been fabricated by pulsed laser deposition of SrMoO₄ in hydrogen. The films are found to grow along the (1 0 0) direction on LaAlO₃ (1 0 0) and SrTiO₃ (1 0 0) substrates. The method has been extended for the fabrication of oxynitride thin films, using ammonia as the reducing medium. The resistivity measurements show nonlinear temperature dependent (Tⁿ) behaviour in the temperature interval of 10-300 K. The conduction mechanism is largely affected by the strain due to the substrate lattice. A combination of T and T² dependence of resistivity on temperature is observed for films having lesser lattice mismatch with the substrate. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies confirm the formation of SrMoO₃ and SrMoO_3−xN_x films.     

Self-buffered BaxSr1−xTiO3 films by sol-gel and RF magnetron sputtering method

Ba_xSr_1−xTiO₃ (BST) films are fabricated by sol-gel and RF (radio frequency) magnetron sputtering method. A buffer layer with columnar grains by sol-gel method is introduced to improve the dielectric anomaly in BST films. We find that the presence of buffer layer can increase the differential dielectric constant against temperature in sol-gel derived BST films while not so with sputtered films. We explain this by an ‘expanded layer thickness model’ and an unstable crystallized surface, respectively. The obtained (dε/ε) dT is up to 6% around 11 °C by the sol-gel method.     

Bottom electrodes dependence of microstructures and dielectric properties of compositionally graded (Ba1−xSrx)TiO3 thin films

Compositionally graded (Ba_1−xSr_x)TiO₃ (BST) thin films, with x decreasing from 0.3 to 0, were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si and Ru/SiO₂/Si substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technology. The microstructure and dielectric properties of the graded BST thin films were investigated. It was found that the films on Ru electrode have better crystallization, and that RuO₂ is present between the Ru bottom electrode and the graded BST thin films by X-ray diffraction and SEM analysis. Dielectric measurement reveals that the graded BST thin films deposited on Ru bottom electrode have higher dielectric constant and tunability. The enhanced dielectric behavior is attributed to better crystallization as well as smaller space charge capacitance width and the formation of RuO₂ that is more compatible with the BST films. The graded BST films on Ru electrode show higher leakage current due to lower barrier height and rougher surface of bottom electrode.     

Composition dependent preferential orientation, dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Pb(ZrxTi1 − x)O3 thin films derived by sol-gel process

Pb(Zr_xTi_1 − x)O₃ (x = 0.35, 0.40, 0.60, 0.65) thin films were prepared by sol-gel spin on technique. From the X-ray diffraction analysis, PZT films with Zr-rich compositions (x = 0.60 and 0.65) had (111) preferential orientation and the preferential orientation changed to (100) for Ti-rich compositions (x = 0.35 and 0.40). The dielectric measurements on the above compositions at room temperature showed that the dielectric constant values were higher in Zr-rich compositions compared to Ti-rich compositions. The ferroelectric behavior measured in terms of the remnant polarization (P_r) and coercive field (E_c) up to an applied field of 260 kV/cm depicted that the Zr-rich PZT films with (111) preferential orientation had higher P_r and lower E_c values compared to the Ti-rich PZT films with (100) preferential orientation can be understood from the domain switching mechanism.     

Structural and optical properties of rock-salt Cd1 − xZnxO thin films prepared by thermal decomposition of electrodeposited Cd1 − xZnxO2

Cd_1 − xZn_xO nanocrystalline thin films with rock-salt structure were obtained through thermal decomposition of Cd_1 − xZn_xO₂ (x = 0, 0.37, 0.57, 1) thin films which were electrodeposited from aqueous solution at room temperature. X-ray diffraction results showed that the Zn ions were incorporated into rock salt-structure of CdO and the crystal lattice parameters decreased with the increase of Zn contents. The bandgaps of the Cd_1 − xZn_xO thin films were obtained from optical transmission and were 2.40, 2.51, 2.63 and 3.25 eV, respectively.     

Gold nanoparticles into Ti1−xZnxO2 films: Synthesis,structure and application

The gold particles of certain size were incorporated into Ti_1−xZn_xO₂ films by sol–gel method. The synthesis conditions predetermine the size and shape of gold nanoparticles, which were monitored by the absorption spectra and SEM images. The results of Raman spectra measurements indicate that Au nanoparticles inhibit the grain growth of anatase within the film. The photocatalytic activity of Au/Ti_1−xZn_xO₂ films in the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride depends on the sizes of Au particles.     

Microwave characterization of laser ablated Y1Ba2Cu3O7−x thin films

In the present study we report the measurements of microwave surface resistance (R_s) of YBCO thin films on LaAlO₃ substrate as a function of temperature, thickness and magnetic field by microstrip resonator technique. The T_c(R = 0) of the films is 90 K and J_c > 10⁶ A/cm² at 77 K. The microwave surface resistance has been measured for films of various thicknesses. The value of R_s has been found to be initially decreased with increasing film thickness due to increase in number of defects. A minimum microwave surface resistance has been obtained for film thickness of about 300 nm. The increase of R_s with film thickness above 300 nm is possibly due to degradation of the film microstructure as observed with Atomic Force Microscopy. Temperature dependence of surface resistance has been studied for best quality films. The field induced variations of surface resistance are also investigated by applying dc magnetic field perpendicular to stripline structure and surface of the film. A general linear and square field dependence of R_s at low and high value of fields has been observed with critical field value of 0.4 T which confirms the microwave dissipation induced by flux flow in these resonators at 10 GHz frequency. The hysteresis of R_s in dc field observed for field value above critical field shows the higher value of surface resistance in decreasing field than in increasing field which is in agreement with one state critical model and is a characteristic of homogeneous superconductors.