Effect of Zr (IV) doping on the optical properties of sol–gel based nanostructured indium oxide films on glass

Zr (IV) doped indium oxide thin films (55 nm) were deposited onto pure silica glass by the sol–gel dip coating technique utilizing the precursors of 6 wt% equivalent oxide content. Three different Zr (IV) oxide (ZrO₂) dopant concentrations (5.0, 10.0 and 15.0 wt% w.r.t. total oxides) were chosen. XRD patterns suggested the films were of distinct cubic symmetry of In₂O₃. Nanostructured surface feature was revealed by FESEM images. Average cluster size decreased with increasing dopant concentration as evidenced from TEM study. Blue shift of band gap and UV cut off wavelength (lambda-50) occurred with increase in dopant concentration. The refractive index gradually increased with doping. Baking atmosphere plays an important role in tailoring the refractive index (RI) of the films and relatively high RI was obtained in the case of baking in pure oxygen. Presence of both free and bound excitons was detected by the photoluminescence (PL) study. The 5 wt% doped film exhibited relatively high PL intensity at 380 nm responsible for free exciton. The PL emissions gradually quenched with increase in dopant concentration. Similar behaviour was also observed when the film was baked in pure oxygen atmosphere.     

Effect of boron doping on optical properties of sol-gel based nanostructured zinc oxide films on glass

Boron doped zinc oxide thin films (∼80 nm) were deposited onto pure silica glass by sol-gel dip coating technique from the precursor sol/solution of 4.0 wt.% equivalent oxide content. The boron concentration was varied from 0 to 2 at.% w.r.t. Zn using crystalline boric acid. The nanostructured feature of the films was visualized by FESEM images and the largest cluster size of ZnO was found in 1 at.% boron doped film (B1ZO). The presence of mixed crystal phases with hexagonal as major phase was identified from XRD reflections of the films. Particle size, optical band gap, visible specular reflection, room temperature photoluminescence (PL) emissions (3.24-2.28 eV), infra-red (IR) and Raman active longitudinal optical (LO) phonon vibration were found to be dependent on dopant concentration. For the first time, we report the room temperature fine structured PL emissions as phonon replicas originated from the LO phonon (both IR and Raman active) in 1 at.% boron doped zinc oxide film.     

Effect of oxygen partial pressure on microstructural and optical properties of titanium oxide thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Nanocrystalline titanium oxide (TiO₂) thin films were deposited on silicon (1 0 0) and quartz substrates at various oxygen partial pressures (1 × 10⁻⁵ to 3.5 × 10⁻¹ mbar) with a substrate temperature of 973 K by pulsed laser deposition. The microstructural and optical properties were characterized using Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The X-ray diffraction studies indicated the formation of mixed phases (anatase and rutile) at higher oxygen partial pressures (3.5 × 10⁻² to 3.5 × 10⁻¹ mbar) and strong rutile phase at lower oxygen partial pressures (1 × 10⁻⁵ to 3.5 × 10⁻³ mbar). The atomic force microscopy studies showed the dense and uniform distribution of nanocrystallites. The root mean square surface roughness of the films increased with increasing oxygen partial pressures. The UV–visible studies showed that the bandgap of the films increased from 3.20 eV to 3.60 eV with the increase of oxygen partial pressures. The refractive index was found to decrease from 2.73 to 2.06 (at 550 nm) as the oxygen partial pressure increased from 1.5 × 10⁻⁴ mbar to 3.5 × 10⁻¹ mbar. The photoluminescence peaks were fitted to Gaussian function and the bandgap was found to be in the range ∼3.28–3.40 eV for anatase and 2.98–3.13 eV for rutile phases with increasing oxygen partial pressure from 1 × 10⁻⁵ to 3.5 × 10⁻¹ mbar.     

Structural, electrical and optical studies of SILAR deposited cadmium oxide thin films: Annealing effect

Successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method has been successfully employed for the deposition of cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films. The films were annealed at 623 K for 2 h in an air and changes in the structural, electrical and optical properties were studied. From the X-ray diffraction patterns, it was found that after annealing, H₂O vapors from as-deposited Cd(O₂)_0.88(OH)_0.24 were removed and pure cubic cadmium oxide was obtained. The as-deposited film consists of nanocrystalline grains of average diameter about 20-30 nm with uniform coverage of the substrate surface, whereas for the annealed film randomly oriented morphology with slight increase in the crystallite size has been observed. The electrical resistivity showed the semiconducting nature with room temperature electrical resistivity decreased from 10⁻² to 10⁻³ Ω cm after annealing. The decrease in the band gap energy from 3.3 to 2.7 eV was observed after the annealing.     

Modeling the optical properties of tin oxide thin films

Searching the many papers reporting on the optical characteristics of tin oxide thin films, an obvious question arises: what is the origin of the very large differences in the reported optical and electrical properties of these films? The objective of the present work is to resolve this question by applying a modeling approach, simulating the refractive index of SnO, SnO₂, SnO + SnO₂, and porous tin oxide films in the visible range of the spectrum under various structure and composition conditions. Using the semi-empirical model of Wemple and DiDomenico for the dielectric function below the interband absorption edge of ionic and covalent solids, and the effective-medium theory of Bruggeman, the refractive indices of SnO, SnO₂, several mixtures of SnO and SnO₂ and various porous tin oxide films were calculated. The resulting data are compared with some published data to suggest the compositional and structural characteristics of the reported oxides. The correlation between the optical properties of the studied thin films and film composition is also indicated. It is proposed that the large spread in reported optical data is possibly a spread in the composition of the samples.     

Characterization on pulsed laser deposited nanocrystalline ZnO thin films

Nanocrystalline zinc oxide thin films were deposited on glass and silicon substrates by using pulsed laser deposition at different laser energy densities (1.5, 2, and 3 J/cm²). The film thickness, surface roughness, composition, optical and structural properties of the deposited films were studied using an α-step surface profilometer, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), optical transmittance, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The film thickness was calculated as 244 nm. AFM analysis shows that the root-mean-square roughness increases with increasing laser energy density. XPS analysis shows that the interaction of zinc with oxygen atoms is greatly increased at high laser energy density. In the optical transmittance spectra, a shift of the absorption edge towards higher wavelength region confirms that the optical band gap increases with an increase in laser energy density. The particle size of the deposited films was measured by XRD, it is found to be in the range from 7.87 to 11.81 nm. It reveals that the particle size increases with an increase in laser energy density.     

Structural and optical properties of tellurite thin film glasses deposited by pulsed laser deposition

Tellurite (TeO₂-TiO₂-Nb₂O₅) thin film glasses have been produced by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature at laser energy densities in the range of 0.8-1.5 J/cm² and oxygen pressures in the range of 3-11 Pa. The oxygen concentration in the films increases with laser energy density to reach values very close to that of the bulk glass at 1.5 J/cm², while films prepared at 1.5 J/cm² and pressures above 5 Pa show oxygen concentration in excess of 10% comparing to the glass. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows the presence of elementary Te in films deposited at O₂ pressures ≤ 5 Pa that is not detected at higher pressures, while analysis of Raman spectra of the samples suggests a progressive substitution of TeO₃ trigonal pyramids by TeO₄ trigonal bipyramids in the films when increasing their oxygen content. Spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis combined with Cauchy and effective medium modeling demonstrates the influence of these compositional and structural modifications on the optical response of the films. Since the oxygen content determines their optical response through the structural modifications induced in the films, those can be effectively controlled by tuning the deposition conditions, and films having large n (2.08) and reduced k (< 10^− 4) at 1.5 μm have been produced using the optimum deposition conditions.     

Nonlinear optical and optical limiting properties of phthalocyanines in solution and thin films of PMMA at 633 nm studied using a cw laser

We present our results on nonlinear optical (NLO) and optical limiting properties of Tetra tert-butyl phthalocyanine and Zinc tetra tert-butyl phthalocyanine studied at 633 nm using a continuous wave laser. We have evaluated the sign and magnitude of the third-order nonlinearity from the closed aperture Z-scan data while the nonlinear absorption properties were assessed using the open aperture data. We have observed low power optical limiting, with low limiting thresholds, based on nonlinear refraction in both the samples. We also present results on the NLO properties of the same dyes doped in Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). These studies indicate that both the phthalocyanines are potential candidates for low power optical limiting applications.     

Optical waveguide based on amorphous Er-doped Ga-Ge-Sb-S(Se) pulsed laser deposited thin films

Amorphous chalcogenide films play a motivating role in the development of integrated planar optical circuits due to their potential functionality in near infrared (IR) and mid-IR spectral regions. More specifically, the photoluminescence of rare earth ions in amorphous chalcogenide films can be used in laser and amplifier devices in the IR spectral domain. The aim of the present investigation was to optimize the deposition conditions for the fabrication of undoped and Er³⁺ doped sulphide and selenide thin films with nominal composition Ga₅Ge₂₀Sb₁₀S(Se)₆₅ or Ga₅Ge₂₃Sb₅S₆₇ by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The study of compositional, morphological and structural characteristics of the layers was realized by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy analyses, respectively. Some optical properties (transmittance, index of refraction, optical band gap, etc.) of prepared chalcogenide films and optical losses were investigated as well. The clear identification of near-IR photoluminescence of Er³⁺ ions was obtained for both selenide and sulphide films. The decay of the ⁴I_13/2 → ⁴I_15/2 transition at 1.54 µm in Er³⁺ doped Ga₅Ge₂₀Sb₁₀S₆₅ PLD sulphide films was studied to assess the effects of film thickness, rare earth concentration and multilayer PLD deposition on their spectroscopic properties.     

Properties of aluminum oxide thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

The chemical, structural, mechanical and optical properties of thin aluminum oxide films deposited at room temperature (RT) and 800 °C on (100) Si and Si-SiO₂ substrates by pulsed laser deposition and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition are investigated and compared. All films are smooth and near stoichiometric aluminum oxide. RT films are amorphous, whereas γ type nano-crystallized structures are pointed out for films deposited at 800 °C. A dielectric constant of ∼ 9 is obtained for films deposited at room temperature and 11-13 for films deposited at 800 °C. Young modulus and hardness are in the range 116-254 GPa and 6.4-28.8 GPa respectively. In both cases, the results show that the deposited films have very interesting properties opening applications in mechanical, dielectric and optical fields.     

Effects of laser irradiation on the structure and optical properties of ZnO thin films

The effects of laser irradiation on the surface microstructure and optical properties of ZnO films deposited on glass substrates were investigated experimentally and compared with those of thermal annealing. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements showed that the irradiation treatment with an Ar⁺ laser of 514 nm for 5 min improves the crystalline quality of ZnO thin films through increasing the grain size and enhancing the c-axis orientation, with the effects similar to those of the thermal annealing at 500 °C for 1 h. Laser irradiation was found to be more effective both for the relaxation of the residual compressive stress in the as-grown films and for the modification of the surface morphology. A significant increase in the UV absorption and a widening in the optical band-gap of the films were also observed after laser irradiation.     

Optical properties of amorphous-like indium zinc oxide and indium gallium zinc oxide thin films

The paper presents the optical properties of amorphous-like indium zinc oxide and indium gallium zinc oxide thin films with various In/(In + Zn) ratios obtained by Pulsed Laser Deposition. Thickness results obtained from simulations of X-ray Reflectivity and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry data were very similar. The dependence of density on stoichiometry resembles the corresponding dependence of the refractive index in the transparency range. A free carrier absorption was noted in the visible spectral range, leading to a weak absorbing thin transparent conductive oxide. On the other hand, the refractive index is smaller than those of based oxides (ZnO and In₂O₃), and counterbalance therefore the weak light absorption.     

VO2 thin films deposited on silicon substrates from V2O5 target: Limits in optical switching properties and modeling

Thermochromic VO₂ thin films presenting a phase change at T_c = 68 °C and having variable thickness were deposited on silicon substrates (Si-001) by radio-frequency sputtering. These thin films were obtained from optimized reduction of low cost V₂O₅ targets. Depending on deposition conditions, a non-thermochromic metastable VO₂ phase might also be obtained. The thermochromic thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry techniques, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and optical emissivity analyses. In the wavelength range 0.3 to 25 μm, the optical transmittance of the thermochromic films exhibited a large variation between 25 and 100 °C due to the phase transition at T_c: the contrast in transmittance (difference between the transmittance values to 25 °C and 100 °C) first increased with film thickness, then reached a maximum value. A model taking into account the optical properties of both types of VO₂ film fully justified such a maximum value. The n and k optical indexes were calculated from transmittance and reflectance spectra. A significant contrast in emissivity due to the phase transition was also observed between 25 and 100 °C.     

Growth and characterization of electrosynthesised zinc oxide thin films

Zinc oxide (ZnO) films have been electrodeposited from an aqueous solution containing 0.1 M zinc nitrate as the electrolyte with pH around 5±0.1. The deposition was carried out by galvanostatic reduction with an applied cathodic current density in the range between 5 and 20 mA cm⁻². The influence of bath composition on the preparation of ZnO films is studied. The effects of zinc nitrate concentration and cathodic current density on the deposition rate of ZnO films were also studied. An optimum current density of 10 mA cm⁻² is identified for the growth of ZnO film with improved crystallinity and optical transmittance. The crystalline structure of the deposits studied by X-ray diffraction reveals the possibility of growing hexagonal ZnO films under suitable electrochemical conditions. The surface morphological studies by scanning electron micrographs revealed the presence of nodular appearance for films deposited at 800 °C bath temperatures.     

Spectroscopic ellipsometry investigations of the optical properties of manganese doped bismuth vanadate thin films

The optical properties of Bi₂V_1−xMn_xO_5.5−x {x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2 at.%} thin films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on platinized silicon substrates were studied in UV-visible spectral region (1.51-4.17 eV) using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The optical constants and thicknesses of these films have been obtained by fitting the ellipsometric data (Ψ and Δ) using a multilayer four-phase model system and a relaxed Lorentz oscillator dispersion relation. The surface roughness and film thickness obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry were found to be consistent with the results obtained by atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. The refractive index measured at 650 nm does not show any marginal increase with Mn content. Further, the extinction coefficient does not show much decrease with increasing Mn content. An increase in optical band gap energy from 2.52 to 2.77 eV with increasing Mn content from x = 0.05 to 0.15 was attributed to the increase in oxygen ion vacancy disorder.     

Effect of thermal annealing time on optical and structural properties of TeO2 thin films

TeO₂ thin films were deposited on quartz substrates by rf reactive sputtering technique from a Te metal target. The obtained samples were annealed in an argon atmosphere at 450 °C for different annealing times up to 90 min. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the as-grown samples were amorphous and there was no appreciable change in structure for a short annealing time. Thin films became polycrystalline with the tetragonal (α-phase) structure of tellurium dioxide crystal with the increase of the thermal annealing time. The refractive index and optical energy gap of the films were calculated by modelling transmittance spectra. The optical energy gap decreased continuously from 3.83 eV to 3.71 eV with increasing thermal annealing time.     

Effect of Al dopants on the structural,optical and gas sensing properties of spray-deposited ZnO thin films

Undoped and Al-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the spray pyrolysis method. The structural, morphological and optical properties of these films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) and photoconductivity (PC) measurements, respectively. XRD analyses confirm that the films are polycrystalline zinc oxide with the hexagonal wurtzite structure, and the crystallite size has been found to be in the range 20–40 nm. SEM and AFM analyses reveal that the films have continuous surface without visible holes or faulty zones, and the surface roughness decreases on Al doping. The Al-doped films have been found to be highly transparent (>85%) and show normal dispersion behavior in the wavelength range 450–700 nm. The doped films show only ultraviolet emission and are found to be highly photosensitive. Among all the films examined, at 300 °C the 1.0 at% Al-doped film shows the selective high response (98.2%) to 100 ppm acetone concentration over to methanol, ethanol, propan-2-ol, formaldehyde and hydrogen.     

Optoelectronic properties of graphene thin films prepared by thermal reduction of graphene oxide

Graphene thin films have been prepared by thermal reduction of graphene oxide. Raising the reduction temperature results in a red-shift of the G peak in Raman spectra. The reduction temperature turns out to strongly affect the morphology of the prepared graphene film. Photoluminescence (PL) results show that the band gap of graphene can be tuned by varying the reduction temperature. The thermal reduction process has been optimized in an effort to minimize the formation of wrinkles/folds on the graphene surface leading to enhanced PL and Raman peak intensities and reduced electrical sheet resistance.     

Application of pulsed laser deposited zinc oxide films to thin film transistor device

Transparent zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on various substrates using a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. During the PLD, oxygen pressure and substrate temperature were varied in order to find an optimal preparation condition of ZnO for thin film transistor (TFT) application. Dependence of optical, electrical and crystalline properties on the deposition conditions was investigated. The ZnO thin films were then deposited on SiN/c-Si layer structures in order to fabricate a TFT device. The pulsed laser deposited ZnO films showed a remarkable TFT performance: field effect mobility (μ_FE) of 2.4-12.85 cm²/V s and ratio of on and off current (R_on/off) in 2-6 order range. Influence of ZnO preparation conditions on the resulting TFT performance was discussed.     

On the optical properties of bismuth oxide thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

The optical properties of bismuth oxide films prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), absorption in the photon energy range 2.50-4.30 eV and optical functions (n, k, ?₁, and ?₂) in the domain 3.20-6.50 eV, have been investigated. As-prepared films (d=0.05-1.50 μm) are characterized by a mixture of polycrystalline and amorphous phases. The fundamental absorption edge is described by direct optical band-to-band transitions with energies 2.90 and 3.83 eV. The dispersion of the optical functions provided values of 4.40-6.25 eV for electron energies of respective direct transitions. In the spectral range 400-1000 nm, bismuth oxide films show a normal dispersion, which can be interpreted in the frame of a single oscillator model.