Al-doped and pure ZnO thin films elaborated by sol–gel spin coating process for optoelectronic applications

Pure and aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films were grown by spin coating at room temperature. As a starting material, zinc acetate was used. The dopant source was aluminum nitrate; the dopant molar ratio was varied between 1 and 10%. Structural analysis reveals that all films consist of single hexagonal wurtzite phase ZnO, and a preferential orientation along c-axis. They have a homogeneous surface. The measurements show that the films are nanostructured. The transmittance is greater than 75% in the visible region. The band gap energy decreases with the addition of dopant (Al) in prepared thin films and the resistivity decreases significantly.     

Effect of annealing and electrochemical properties of sol–gel dip coated nanocrystalline V2O5 thin films

Nanocrystalline vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by a simple and cost effective sol–gel dip coating method. The effect of annealing on microstructure and optical properties of V₂O₅ thin films were investigated. Formation of nanorods with the average diameter of 500–750 nm after annealing is observed by scanning electron microscopy. X-ray diffractometry indicates that an orthorhombic structured thin film is transformed to β-V₂O₅ nanorods by subsequent annealing at 500 °C. It was also confirmed that the growth of nanorods strongly correlates with annealing conditions; nanorod formation can be explained by surface diffusion phenomenon. The electrochemical performance of the V₂O₅ nanorods was investigated by cyclic voltammetry.     

Characterization of ZrTiO4 thin films prepared by sol–gel method

The electrical properties, memory switching behavior, and microstructures of ZrTiO₄ thin films prepared by sol–gel method at different annealing temperatures were investigated. All films exhibited ZrTiO₄ (111) and (101) orientations perpendicular to the substrate surface, and the grain size increased with increasing annealing temperature. A low leakage current density of 1.47×10^?6 A/cm² was obtained for the prepared films. The I–V characteristics of ZrTiO₄ capacitors can be explained in terms of ohmic conduction in the low electric field region and Schottky emission in the high electric field region. An on/off ratio of 10² was measured in our glass/ITO/ZrTiO₄/Pt structure with an annealing temperature of 600 °C. Considering the primary memory switching behavior of ZrTiO₄, ReRAM based on ZrTiO₄ shows promise for future nonvolatile memory applications.     

Properties of fluorine-doped SnO2 thin films by a green sol–gel method

Fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO) films were fabricated on a glass substrate by a green sol–gel dip-coating process. Non-toxic SnF₂ was used as fluorine source to replace toxic HF or NH₄F. Effect of SnF₂ content, 0–10 mol%, on structure, electrical resistivity, and optical transmittance of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction, Hall effect measurements, and UV–vis spectra. Structural analysis revealed that the films are polycrystalline with a tetragonal crystal structure. Grain size varies from 43 to 21 nm with increasing fluorine concentration, which in fact critically impacts resultant electrical and optical properties. The 500 °C-annealed FTO film containing 6 mol% SnF₂ shows the lowest electrical resistivity 7.0×10⁻⁴ Ω cm, carrier concentration 1.1×10²¹ cm⁻³, Hall mobility 8.1 cm²V⁻¹ s⁻¹, optical transmittance 90.1% and optical band-gap 3.91 eV. The 6 mol% SnF₂ added film has the highest figure of merit 2.43×10⁻² Ω⁻¹ which is four times higher than that of un-doped FTO films. Because of the promising electrical and optical properties, F-doped thin films prepared by this green process are well-suited for use in all aspects of transparent conducting oxide.     

Observation of Meyer–Neldel rule in CdS thin films

A study of electrical transport in CdS thin films is reported. We have observed, for the first time, that CdS thin film conductivity obeys the Meyer–Neldel rule (MNR). This was deduced from linking the conductivity pre-exponential factor to the activation energy variation. CdS films were deposited by chemical bath deposition at different solution temperatures in order to vary the electrical activation energy of the films. A correlation between the MNR rule and the disorder in the film network is highlighted. The multi-trapping process in the band tail-localized states governs the conductivity in CdS films. This explains the MNR observation in CdS films. The variation of the electrical conductivity pre-exponential factor and activation energy are correlated to the disorder in the film network; this was explained in terms of polaron formation and phonon–electron coupling with disorder.     

Synthesis of TiO2 thin films with highly efficient surfaces using a sol–gel technique

Three different strong acid catalysts were used in a simple sol–gel synthesis to produce TiO₂ thin films with increased homogeneity and enhanced photocatalytic activity on their mesoporous surfaces. Various techniques were used to characterize the samples, including UV–visible spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman spectrometry, photobleaching, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The band gaps varied from 3.73 to 3.75 eV and the transmittance was >80%. An anatase phase was obtained in all the samples and the crystal size varied from 20 to 45 nm as a function of the annealing temperature. The increase in the efficiency of the surface of the TiO₂ thin films was evaluated by photodegradation of methylene blue in water. The results showed that the acid catalysts used in the synthesis had an important effect on the morphology and photocatalytic activity of the thin films, resulting in more efficient surfaces. Synthesis with hydrofluoric acid produced thin films with a homogenous mesoporous structure and improved the photodegradation of the methylene blue dye to 92% in 2.5 h.     

Optical and electrical properties of nickel oxide thin films synthesized by sol–gel spin coating

Nickel oxide thin films were prepared by the sol–gel technique combined with spin coating onto glass substrates. The as-deposited films were pre-heated at 275 °C for 15 min and then annealed in air at different temperatures. The effects of the annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of the films are studied. The results show that 600 °C is the optimum annealing temperature for preparation of NiO films with p-type conductivity and high optical transparency. Then, by using these optimized deposition parameters, NiO thin films of various thicknesses were deposited at the same experimental conditions and annealed under different atmospheres. Surface morphology of the films was investigated by atomic force microscopy. The surface morphology of the films varies with the annealing atmosphere. Optical transmission was studied by UV–vis spectrophotometer. The transmittance of films decreased as the thickness of films increased. The electrical resistivity, obtained by four-point probe measurements, was improved when NiO layers were annealed in N₂ atmosphere at 600 °C.     

Nb-doped TiO2 sol–gel films for CO sensing applications

Nb doped titania (TiO₂:Nb) multilayered films (1–10 layers) with anatase structure were obtained by the low-cost sol–gel and dipping method on microscope glass substrates, followed by thermal treatment at 450 °C for 1 h. After each layer deposition, an intermediate annealing step was performed at 300 °C for 30 min. Doping TiO₂ sol–gel films with a low amount of Nb (0.8 at%) allows obtaining an improved CO sensor able to operate under environmental atmosphere (air). It was found that the sensor sensitivity is less dependent on the film thickness but is significantly influenced by Nb doping at the optimal working temperature of 400 °C. Good recovery characteristics were obtained for a wide CO detection range, between 0 and 2000 ppm. The gas-sensing behavior of the films was correlated with the structural, chemical and morphological properties of the multi-layered structures.     

Sol–gel derived nanocrystalline TiO2 thin films: A promising candidate for self-cleaning smart window applications

In the present work, anatase TiO₂ films are prepared by sol–gel spin coating method. The structural and optical properties of the films have been studied at different post-annealing temperatures. The photocatalytic activity and electrochromic performance of the films are investigated. The films annealed at 400 °C exhibit the highest photocatalytic activity with a rate constant of 4.56×10⁻³ min⁻¹. The electrochromic performance for the films annealed at 400 °C expressed in terms of difference in optical density (ΔOD) at 550 nm between coloured and bleached state is 0.5493. This combination of photocatalysis and electrochromism makes the sol–gel derived titania thin films as promising candidates for self-cleaning smart window applications.     

Boron-doped Ⅲ–Ⅴ semiconductors for Si-based optoelectronic devices

Optoelectronic devices on silicon substrates are essential not only to the optoelectronic integrated circuit but also to low-cost lasers,large-area detectors,and so forth.Although heterogeneous integration of III-V semiconductors on Si has been welldeveloped,the thermal dissipation issue and the complicated fabrication process still hinders the development of these devices.The monolithic growth of III-V materials on Si has also been demonstrated by applying complicated buffer layers or interlayers.On the other hand,the growth of lattice-matched B-doped group-III-V materials is an attractive area of research.However,due to the difficulty in growth,the development is still relatively slow.Herein,we present a comprehensive review of the recent achievements in this field.We summarize and discuss the conditions and mechanisms involved in growing B-doped group-III-V materials.The unique surface morphology,crystallinity,and optical properties of the epitaxy correlating with their growth conditions are discussed,along with their respective optoelectronic applications.Finally,we detail the obstacles and challenges to exploit the potential for such practical applications fully.     

Influence of Pb doping on the structural,morphological and optical properties of sol–gel ZnO thin films

In this work, undoped and lead (Pb)-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on glass substrate using the sol–gel dip-coating process. The effects of different Pb doping concentrations on the structural, morphological, optical, electrical and photoluminescence properties of such films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-rays (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–vis–NIR spectrophotometry, Hall effect measurement and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. XRD patterns of the synthesized films exhibited hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with a c-axis preferred (002) orientation. AFM images showed that film morphology and surface roughness were influenced by the Pb doping level. Incorporation of Pb was confirmed from elemental analysis using EDS. The UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy characterizations demonstrated that all the films were highly transparent with average visible transmission values ranging from 75% to 85%. Electrical measurement shows that carrier concentration and resistivity are dependent on Pb content. Room temperature PL spectra clearly indicated a great dependence of the UV, green and red emissions on the Pb concentration. In particular, the red emission at 2 eV is quenched after introduction of Pb atoms.     

Boron-doped III–V semiconductors for Si-based optoelectronic devices

Optoelectronic devices on silicon substrates are essential not only to the optoelectronic integrated circuit but also to low-cost lasers, large-area detectors, and so forth. Although heterogeneous integration of III–V semiconductors on Si has been well-developed, the thermal dissipation issue and the complicated fabrication process still hinders the development of these devices. The monolithic growth of III–V materials on Si has also been demonstrated by applying complicated buffer layers or interlayers. On the other hand, the growth of lattice-matched B-doped group-III–V materials is an attractive area of research. However, due to the difficulty in growth, the development is still relatively slow. Herein, we present a comprehensive review of the recent achievements in this field. We summarize and discuss the conditions and mechanisms involved in growing B-doped group-III–V materials. The unique surface morphology, crystallinity, and optical properties of the epitaxy correlating with their growth conditions are discussed, along with their respective optoelectronic applications. Finally, we detail the obstacles and challenges to exploit the potential for such practical applications fully.     

Microwave properties and applications of Y–Ba–Cu–O thin films grown on various substrates

Microwave properties of YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ (YBCO) films grown on (100) LaAlO₃ (LAO), (110) NdGaO₃ (NGO) and (001) SrLaAlO₄ (SLAO) substrates were studied in the form of a microstrip ring resonator at temperatures above 20 K. The YBCO resonator on a SLAO substrate showed microwave properties better than or comparable to other YBCO resonators on LAO substrates. For the YBCO resonators on LAO and SLAO substrates, both Q_U and f₀ appeared to decrease as the temperature was raised. Meanwhile the resonator on a NGO substrate showed different behaviors with Q_U showing a peak at ∼70 K, which are attributed to the unique temperature dependence of the loss tangent of the NGO substrate. An X-band oscillator with a YBCO ring resonator coupled to the circuit was prepared and its properties were investigated at low temperatures. The frequency of the oscillator signal appeared to change from 7.925 GHz at 30 K to 7.878 GHz at 77 K, which was mostly attributed to the change in f₀ of the YBCO ring resonator. The signal power appeared to be more than 4.5 mW at 30 K and 2.1 mW at 77 K, respectively. At 55 K, the frequency of the oscillator signal was 7.917 GHz with the 3 dB-linewidth of 450 Hz.     

Structural and optical properties of (Al,K)-co-doped ZnO thin films deposited by a sol–gel technique

Thin films of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) and (Al, K)-co-doped ZnO (AKZO) were synthesized by sol–gel spin coating and their structural and optical properties were investigated. All the films had a preferential orientation in which the c-axis was perpendicular to the substrate. The optical bandgap increased after Al doping, but decreased after K doping at a given Al doping concentration. UV emission and a broad visible emission band were observed in photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The intensity of both emission bands decreased after Al and K co-doping. PL excitation (PLE) spectra of the blue emission band indicate that the initial state is possibly the same for all the samples and a similar case occurs for the orange–red emission band. The green emission can be attributed to electronic transitions involving oxygen vacancies. A possible process for the orange–red emission of the thin films is radiative recombination of an electron trapped in a zinc interstitial defect with a hole deeply trapped in interstitial oxygen.     

High C-doping of MOVPE grown thin AlxGa1−xAs layers for AlGaAs/GaAs interband tunneling devices

High hole concentrations in LP-MOVPE grown GaAs and AlGaAs layers can be achieved by intrinsic C-doping using TMGa and TMAl as carbon sources. Free carrier concentrations exceeding 10²⁰ cm⁻³ were realised at low growth temperatures between 520–540°C and V/III ratios <1.2. The C-concentration increases significantly with the Al-content in Al_xGa_1−xAs layers. We observed an increase in the atom- and free carrier concentration from 5·10¹⁹ cm⁻³ in GaAs to 1.5·10²⁰ cm⁻³ in Al_0.2Ga_0.8As for the same growth conditions. Interband tunneling devices with n-type Si and p-type C-doped AlGaAs layers and barriers made of Al_0.25Ga_0.26In_0.49P have been investigated.     

Sol–gel deposited SiO2 and hybrid low dielectric constant thin films

The paper presents the comparative analysis of effect of hydrochloric (HCl), hydrofluoric (HF) acid catalyst and organic material methylmethacrylate (MMA) on dielectric constant of thin films. The dielectric constant of thin film obtained by using HCl catalyst is 3.63 which have been successfully reduced to 2.97 for hybrid thin films via incorporation of carbon. The deposited low k dielectric thin films observed to have good adhesion with p-silicon substrate and hence pertinent for interlayer dielectric (ILD) in ultra-large scale integrated (ULSI) circuits applications. The deposited films have been characterized by ellipsometer for refractive index, further material compositions have been studied by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDAX).     

Band gap engineering by substitution of S by Se in nanostructured CdS1−xSex thin films grown by soft chemical route for photosensor application

Ternary alloys of CdS_1−xSe_x (x=0, x=0.2, x=0.4, x=0.6, x=0.8, x=1) thin films were prepared on to glass substrates by a simple and economical soft chemical route (chemical bath deposition) at 50° to 80 °C in air. The as-grown films were characterized by optical and electrical measurement systems, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) and SEM (scanning electron microscopy). The optical study reveals shift in the absorption edge towards the higher wavelengths, i.e. the band gap decreases as a function of ‘x’ (quantity of selenium in the bath). I–V measurement of CdS (resulted when x=0), CdS_1−xSe_x (x=0.2, x=0.4, x=0.6, x=0.8) and CdSe (resulted when x=1) thin films under dark and illumination conditions (60 W) were measured. Increase in photoconductivity is observed, suggesting its applicability in photosensor devices. Electrical resistivity shows semiconducting behavior and activation energy decreases. The XRD patterns reveals that deposited thin films have hexagonal mixed structure. EDAX confirmed the compositional parameters. SEM images showed uniform deposition of the material over the entire glass substrate.     

Optical studies of TiO2–lead phthalocyanine nanocomposite thin films prepared by electron beam evaporation

The nanocomposite thin films of titanium dioxide (TiO₂)–lead phthalocyanine (PbPc) have been prepared on glass substrates by the electron beam evaporation technique. The optical properties of TiO₂/PbPc nanocomposite thin films have been investigated using a spectrophotometric measurement of the absorbance and transmittance at normal incident of light in the wavelength region 300–800 nm. Surface morphology of thin films has been characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The UV–vis analysis has been performed to determine the type of electronic transition and the optical energy band gap. The analysis of the spectral behavior of the absorption coefficient in the intrinsic absorption region reveals that the absorption mechanism is due to direct transition. Moreover, by studying the absorption coefficient spectra just below the fundamental absorption edge, the width of band tails of localized states (Urbach energy), steepness parameter and width of the defect states have been evaluated. The obtained results of this novel nanocomposite (TiO₂/PbPc) support the desirable features for the optoelectronic devices.     

Electron beam lithography of hybrid sol–gel negative resist

The direct pattering process here described is proposed as an alternative to conventional multi step nanofabrication techniques, merging materials with novel functional properties and the simplification of the fabrication processes. We report the use of an innovative hybrid sol–gel material working as negative resists for EBL lithography and showing a resolution better than 100 nm. Tailoring the optical and mechanical properties, few examples of photonic nanostructure were fabricated with a simple e-beam exposure that greatly simplify the nanofabrication process.