Effect of composition on optical properties of co-evaporated Mn/SiO x,Cr/SiO x and Cu/SiO x cermet thin films

Optical absorption spectra of amorphous Mn/SiO _x , Cr/SiO _x , and Cu/SiO _x cermet films, 300 nm thick, with compositions from 0 to 25 at% Mn, Cr and Cu, respectively, prepared by co-evaporation at 293 Kin vacuo have been investigated. The linearity of ()^1/2 versus graphs in the high absorption region for all the cermet films indicates that indirect photon transitions in k-space are involved in the absorption process. Taue's rule is also confirmed. In all cases the optical energy gap decreases significantly with increasing metallic content of the films and the width of the tail of localized states increases.     

On the optical properties of Mn/SiO and SiO thin films

The ultraviolet, visible and infrared properties of unannealed and annealed amorphous Mn/SiO cermet thin films (300 to 1000 nm thick) prepared by vacuum evaporation at 5.0×10^–4 Pa are investigated. The ultraviolet and visible results are analysed assuming optical absorption by indirect transitions. A systematic reduction of the optical energy gap and an increase in the width of the band-tail region is observed with increasing metallic content. The effects of the ratio deposition rate/residual pressure and substrate temperature on the optical properties of SiO _x (1<x<2) thin films are also investigated.     

AC electrical conductivity of electron beam evaporated Cu-GeO2 thin cermet films

AC electrical properties of 410 nm think 30 at.wt% Cu-70 at.wt% GeO₂ thin films are reported for the frequency range 10⁴ to 10⁶ Hz and temperature range 150 to 425 K. The loss tangent (tan ) and the dielectric loss (/₀) are found to show striking minima around a cut-off frequency 10⁵ Hz. In the lower frequency range (10⁵ Hz), ₁() ^s T ⁿ is obeyed with s (0 to 0.51) increasing as a function of temperature and n (0.10 to 0.14) showing a very weak temperature dependence. In the higher frequency region (10⁵ Hz), ₁() and /₀ increase sharply leading to the quadratic behavior of ₁() with s equal to 2. These processes are discussed by analyzing an equivalent circuit which shows that at lower frequencies, the effects of series resistance in leads and contacts can be neglected, while at higher frequencies such effect give rise to spurious ² dependance for the conductance. A weakly activated AC conductivity and a frequency exponent s that increases with increasing temperature suggest that the low frequency behavior originates from carrier migration by tunneling process.     

Physical characteristics of thermally evaporated Bismuth thin films

Thin films of bismuth with different thicknesses were produced by thermal evaporation from a molybdenum boat source onto cleaned glass substrates at room temperature. The material has been characterized using X-ray diffraction, electrical and optical measurements. A polycrystalline transition phase was observed. The resistivity was calculated for different film thicknesses and found to vary with thickness and temperature. An anomalous dependence of resistivity on temperature was observed during heating. The optical constants were determined from the transmission and reflection data of these thin films for normal incidence. The absorption coefficient revealed the existence of an allowed direct transition with energy gap (E_g) values ranging from 3.45 to 3.6 eV.     

A.c. conduction in evaporated MoO3/SiO amorphous thin films

The dielectric properties of vacuum-deposited MoO₃/SiO films of different compositions studied in the frequency range 10² to 10⁶ Hz at various temperatures (193 to 393 K) are reported. The properties of the film capacitor are found to be temperature and frequency dependent. The decrease in a.c. conductance with increasing concentration of SiO in MoO₃ may be attributed to the increasing number of trapping centres generated in MoO₃/SiO films during the evaporation process.     

Large-area uniform evaporated thin films

The production of uniformly thick (0.1% uniformity) films over large areas (≈200-mm diameter) is described. The technique uses a rotating substrate and a rotating shutter situated between the source and the substrate, the axis of rotation of the shutter being displaced from the line joining the centre of rotation of the substrate and the centre of the source.     

Effect of substrate temperatures on the electrical resistivity of thermally evaporated Mn thin films

Resistivity measurements have been performed on three samples of Mn thin films from 300 to 1.4 K using the van der Pauw four probe technique. The films were grown by thermal evaporation onto glass substrates held at 523, 323 and 77 K, respectively in a bell jar held at 6 × 10⁻⁶ Torr. The resistivity-temperature results of the three specimens reveal a variety of low temperature behaviours. A behaviour typical of the bulk α-Mn is obtained with the film grown at a substrate temperature of 523 K whilst with the film grown at a substrate temperature of 323 K, the resistivity tends to a saturation at low temperatures exhibiting a behaviour reminiscent of Kondo scattering. The resistivity-temperature behaviour of the sample held at a substrate temperature of 77 K may be regarded as typical of a metallic alloy glass with a negative temperature coefficient of resistivity at high temperatures and this turns to a T² dependence of resistivity at very low temperatures.     

Electrical conduction in Cr-SiO cermet thin films

In one model of electrical conduction in cermet thin films it is assumed that they form a system composed of small metal particles embedded in a solid dielectric. Hill and Coutts (Thin Solid Films, 42 (1977) 201) have found that the value of the power parameter n in the formula describing the temperature dependence of the electrical resistance of such a discontinuous metal film ranges from zero to 0.6. In this study these values for n were verified experimentally for Cr-SiO cermet thin films with various metal concentrations which were deposited by flash evaporation.     

On the electrical resistivity and structural properties of evaporated manganese/silicon oxide cermet films

This paper describes the preparation and some of the electrical properties of evaporated manganese/silicon oxide cermet thin films. The variation of the electrical resistivity with starting composition (0 to 60% by weight) is explained in terms of the formation of silicides Mn₃Si and Mn₅Si₃. The composition of the cermets was obtained using electron diffraction microscopy and infra-red absorption spectroscopy.     

Composition control for evaporated CoCr thin films

Composition control was achieved in fabrication of CoCr thin films by evaporation onto tape-shaped polymer substrates. The vapor composition during deposition was determined by an atomic absorption type of detectors and a composition calculator. The gradual change of composition during deposition due to the difference in vapor pressure between Co and Cr was compensated by supplying Cr into the evaporator. As a result, the desirable composition was obtained to within an accuracy of 0.4 wt.%. This composition control system was shown to be suitable for the preparation of CoCr perpendicular magnetic recording media     

D.c. and a.c. electrical properties of vacuum evaporated thin SiO/GeO2 films

The d.c. and a.c. electrical properties were studied for various compositions of SiO/GeO₂ co-evaporated thin films carrying aluminium electrodes, in the temperature range 193–413 K. A.c. measurements were made over the frequency range 2x10²–10⁶Hz. The value of the d.c. activation energy was found to decrease with increasing GeO₂ content in the SiO. In the region of high applied field (above 10⁶ Vm^–1, the conduction mechanism is governed by Schottky emission at the blocking contact. The a.c. electrical conductivity, (), varies with frequency according to the relation () ^s, where the exponent s was found to be dependent on temperature and frequency. The a.c. conduction at low temperature was due to an electronic hopping process. The number of localized sites was estimated from the a.c. measurements for different compositions of SiO/GeO₂ using the models proposed by Elliott and by Pollak, and the values are compared. The Elliott model satisfactorily accounts for the observed a.c. electrical results. A correlation was found between activation energy, optical band gap, conductivity and number of localized sites for the various compositions of SiO/GeO₂ films. The relative dielectric constant, _r, and loss factor, tan , were found to increase with the increase of GeO₂ content in the films.     

Electrical properties of thermally evaporated tellurium thin films

Results of dielectric and conduction properties of vacuum evaporated tellurium (Te) thin film capacitors (Al-Te-Al) have been reported in the frequency range 1–100 kHz at various temperatures (303–423 K). Loss factor (tanδ) which shows a maximum with frequency increases with rise of temperature and tanδ _max shift towards high frequency region. The large values of capacitance and dielectric constant (ɛ′) in the low frequency region indicate the possibility of an interfacial polarization mechanism.I-V characteristics show ohmic, space charge limited (SCLC) and thermionic emission conduction mechanisms to operate at low, intermediate and high voltages respectively. Various transport parameters have been calculated. It has been observed that the Schottky type of conduction is predominant in the high field region and the Schottky barrier height has been determined. The Hall coefficient, Hall mobility and carrier concentration are also discussed.     

Structural characterization of vacuum evaporated ZnSe thin films

Thermally evaporated ZnSe thin films deposited on glass substrates within substrate temperatures (T _s)at 303 K-623 K are of polycrystalline nature having f.c.c. zincblende structure. The most preferential orientation is along [111] direction for all deposited films together with other abundant planes [220] and [311]. The lattice parameter, grain size, average internal stress, microstrain, dislocation density and degree of preferred orientation in the film are calculated and correlated with T _s.     

Optical properties of evaporated PbSnS3 thin films

PbSnS3 is a ternary sulfide semiconductor material which has been relatively little studied in the literature. Thin films of this material were deposited on glass substrates by a thermal evaporation process and their optical properties investigated. The optical parameters were determined from the analysis of measured transmission spectra, at normal incidence, from 400–1500 nm, at room temperature. The fundamental absorption edge is placed at 1.04±0.05 eV and is forbidden in nature. Other absorption edges are obtained at 1.44 and 1.55±0.05 eV, with a nearby direct one at 1.68±0.05 eV. The peaks at 1.44 and 1.55 eV have been independently confirmed by the spectral photocurrent response of the films. © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers