A microwave route for the synthesis of nanoflakes and dendrites-type beta-ln2S3 and their characterization

In this article, a simple microwave route was applied for the synthesis of nanoflakes and dendrite-type beta-indium sulfide (In2S3) in high yield (> 97%), using a homogeneous mixture of indium(lll)chloride and thiourea in an ethylene glycol (EG)/polyethylene glycol (PEG400) solvent. The reaction was conducted in a simple domestic microwave oven (DMO). Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), low resolution and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (LRTEM and HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), were applied to investigate the crystallinity, structure, morphology, and composition of the In2S3 nano-materials. Both the as-synthesized and calcined In2S3 products were a body-centered tetragonal (bct) phase, observed by XRD and HRTEM. The length and width of the resulting nanoflakes were in the range of 70-600 nm and 4-10 nm, respectively. The optical band gap of the powder was determined by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and was found to be 2.44 eV. The electronic properties of the products were studied by measuring the optical absorption spectra using photoacoustic spectroscopy. The band gap calculated by this method was found to be 2.52 eV. A possible mechanism for the formation of nanoflakes/dendrites-type In2S3 was also discussed.     

Preparation and optical properties of Bi doped ZnO thin films with (100) orientation by rf magnetron sputtering

Bi doped ZnO films with (100) orientation have been grown on glass substrates by rf magnetron sputtering followed by vacuum annealing at 400 °C for 3 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that the film first growth along (002) direction was suppressed to form (100) plane with c-axis parallel to the substrate. After annealed at 400 °C for 3 h under vacuum, transmittance about 80% in visible region and near 100% absorption in UV region for (100) oriented Bi doped ZnO films are confirmed by the optical transmission spectra. The optical band gap is evaluated to be around 3.13 eV which is lower than (002) oriented films.     

Structural and optical properties of nc-Si:H thin films deposited by layer-by-layer technique

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin films deposited on c-Si and quartz substrates by layer-by-layer (LBL) technique using radio-frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition system. The effects of rf power on the interlayer elemental profiling, structural and optical properties of the films were investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman scattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and optical transmission and reflection spectroscopy. The results revealed that the LBL deposition leads to a formation of different ranges of crystallite sizes of nc-Si corresponds 3–6 and 8–26 nm respectively. LBL deposition also demonstrated a capability to increase the crystalline volume fraction of nc-Si up to 65.3 % with the crystallite size in between 5 and 6 nm, at the rf power in between 80 and 100 W. However, the crystalline volume fraction decreased for the rf power above 100 W due to the growth of nc-Si was suppressed by the formation of SiO₂. In addition, the onset of crystallization of the films deposited on c-Si and quartz substrates are different with increase in the rf power. The effects of rf power on the growth of nc-Si, and the hydrogen content, structural disorder, crystallite size of nc-Si and oxygen diffusion into the LBL layer with the change of optical energy gap under the variation of rf power are also discussed.     

Novel synthesis of interconnected nanocubic PbS thin films by facile aqueous chemical route

In the present investigation, we have successfully synthesized lead sulfide (PbS) thin films by using simple, cost effective and facile aqueous chemical route. The effect of deposition time on optical, structural and morphological properties of PbS thin films were investigated by using UV–Vis–NIR absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), high-resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The optical band gap energy was varied in the range of 0.96–1.56 eV. The XRD patterns revealed the formation of pure cubic crystal structure. FESEM micrographs demonstrated the conversion of morphology from pyramidal to interconnected nanocubic. HRTEM and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern illustrated that nanoparticles are compact, well interconnected and single crystalline in nature. EDS spectrum confirms that deposited PbS thin films are in good stoichiometry.     

Experimental investigations of semi-crystalline plasma polymerized poly(3-octyl thiophene)

Plasma polymerized thin film of conducting poly(3-octylthiophene) was deposited at room temperature by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method using (3-octylthiophene) monomer as precursor. The radio frequency (RF: 13.56 MHz, power supply: 30 W) was applied at constant argon gas pressure for the formation of plasma. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) have been done for the as grown films. As reported in literature polythiophenes prepared by rf plasma polymerization are highly crosslinked and amorphous. However, in present investigations, well defined crystalline regions have been observed by HRTEM investigations and have been correlated with X-ray diffraction data. The observed crystallinity is attributed to controlling the parameters of the synthesis.     

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.     

A new synthesis of hexadecylamine-capped Mn-doped wurtzite CdSe nanoparticles

Hexadecylamine-capped Mn-doped wurtzite CdSe nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized via a novel, facile method at low temperature. Optical spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area diffraction (SAD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) measurements are presented to confirm successful doping of the wurtzite CdSe. The nanoparticles obtained show quantum confinement in their optical properties with band-edge luminescence. The reduction in the emission intensity of the doped CdSe compared to the pure CdSe indicates the presence of impurity (Mn²⁺ ions) in the pure CdSe nanoparticles. XRD analysis reveals that the nanoparticles are of wurtzite structure while the HRTEM image confirms the crystallinity of the doped material.     

HMDSO plasma polymerization and thin film optical properties

Thin films were deposited from hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) in a glow discharge supplied with radiofrequency (rf) power. Actino-metric optical emission spectroscopy was used to follow trends in the plasma concentrations of the species SiH (414.2 nm), CH (431.4 nm), CO (520.0 nm), and H (656.3 nm) as a function of the applied rf power (range 5 to 35 W). Transmission infrared spectroscopy (IRS) was employed to characterize the molecular structure of the polymer, showing the presence of Si-H, Si-O-Si, Si-O-C and C-H groups. The deposition rate, determined by optical interferometry, ranged from 60 to 130 nm/min. Optical properties were determined from transmission ultra violet-visible spectroscopy (UVS) data. The absorption coefficient , the refractive index n, and the optical gap E₀₄ of the polymer films were calculated as a function of the applied power. The refractive index at a photon energy of 1 eV varied from 1.45 to 1.55, depending on the rf power used for the deposition. The absorption coefficient showed an absorption edge similar to other non-crystalline materials, amorphous hydrogenated carbon, and semiconductors. For our samples, we define as an optical gap, the photon energy E₀₄ corresponding to the energy at an absorption of 10⁴ cm⁻¹. The values of E₀₄ decreased from 5.3 to 4.6 as the rf power was increased from 5 to 35 W.     

Quantum confinement effect of CdS nanoparticles dispersed within PVP/PVA nanocomposites

Nanocomposite films of CdS nanoparticles within PVP/PVA blend were prepared. The prepared films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The amount of Cd⁺ used strongly influenced the size of the CdS nanoparticles, which was confirmed by XRD, UV–vis absorption spectra, PL emission spectra and TEM images. Smaller sized CdS nanoparticles were formed in higher content of cadmium. The results of XRD indicate that CdS nanoparticles were formed with hexagonal phase in the polymeric matrix. PL and UV–vis spectra reveal that nanocomposite films shows quantum confinement effect. Optical band gap and particle size were calculated and is in agreement with the results obtained from TEM data. The direct energy band gap was increased up to 2.86 eV.     

Effect of Deposition Conditions and Postdeposition Heat Treatment on the Optical Properties of CdIn(2)O(4) Thin Films

Using a Lorentz-Drude model, we determine optical constants in the range from 300 to 1000 nm for CdIn(2)O(4) thin films deposited by rf reactive sputtering from the measurement of transmission and reflection. We discuss the effect of deposition conditions including substrate temperature and oxygen concentration in a reactive atmosphere and postdeposition heat treatment on optical constants, absorption properties, and the bandgap of thin films. It can be found that changes in optical constants and bandgap are in good agreement with those of the carrier concentration. Therefore an optical constant could be related to the film's inherent properties, such as the energy gap and carrier concentration, and might be regarded as a useful probe for monitoring in situ the film process. A study of Urbach tails reveals that the effect of substrate temperature on the characteristic photon energy is negligible.     

Influence of filament-to-substrate distance on the spectroscopic,structural and optical properties of silicon carbide thin films deposited by HWCVD technique

Silicon carbide (SiC) thin films were deposited using hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) technique from pure silane and methane gas mixture. The effect of filament distance to the substrate on the structural and optical properties of the films was investigated. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering spectroscopy and UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy were carried out to characterize SiC films. XRD patterns of the films indicated that the film deposited under highest filament-to-substrate distance were amorphous in structure, while the decrease in distance led to formation and subsequent enhancement of crystallinity. The Si–C bond density in the film structure obtained from FTIR data, showed significant increment with transition from amorphous to nano-crystalline structure. However, it remained almost unchanged with further improvement in crystalline volume fraction. From Raman data it was observed that the presence of amorphous silicon phase and sp ² bonded carbon clusters increased with the decrease in distance. This reflected in deterioration of structural order and narrowing the optical band gap of SiC films. It was found that filament-to-substrate distance is a key parameter in HWCVD system which influences on the reactions kinetics as well as structural and optical properties of the deposited films.     

On the structure and characterization of Al, Sc-co-doped ZnO-films varying with 0-2.37 wt.% Sc contents

Thin films of Al, Sc-co-doped ZnO varying with Sc-contents were sputtered on the glass substrate. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the films revealed wurtzite crystals that were confirmed through the analysis of high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). With increasing the Sc-content from 0 to 2.37 wt.% in the films, the optical energy band gap (Eg) was estimated to decrease from 3.25 to 3.20 eV, and the electrical resistivity (Ω cm) decreased from 3.8 × 10^− 3 to 1.3 × 10^− 3. The decrease in resistivity may be ascribed to electrons tunneling through the horizontal stacking faults induced by Sc-dopants in the films.     

Optical and electrical characterization of CdS thin films

Thin CdS films have been grown by chemical bath (CdCl₂, thiourea, ammonia) deposition (CBD) on SnO₂ (TO)-coated glass substrate for use as window materials in CdS/CdTe solar cells. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed grains with an average size of 10 nm. The structure was predominantly hexagonal with a high density of stacking faults. The film crystallinity improved with annealing in air. Annealing in a CdCl₂ flux increased the grain size considerably and reduced the density of stacking faults. The optical transmission of the as-deposited films indicated a band gap energy of 2.41 eV. Annealing in air reduced the band gap by 0.1 eV. Annealing in CdCl₂ led to a sharper optical absorption edge that remained at 2.41 eV. Similar band gap values were obtained by photocurrent spectroscopy and electroabsorption spectroscopy (EEA) using an electrolyte contact. EEA spectra were broad for the as-deposited and air-annealed samples, but narrower for the CdCl₂-annealed films, reflecting the reduction in stacking fault density. Donor densities of ca. 10¹⁷ cm ^–3 were derived from the film/electrolyte junction capacitance.     

Influence of CTAB surfactant on structural and optical properties of CuS and CdS nanoparticles by hydrothermal route

Metal sulphide CuS and CdS nanoparticles capped with Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) were synthesized by hydrothermal method. Structural, morphological, chemical composition, optical and luminescent properties were evaluated by different analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the CTAB capped metal sulfide nanoparticles reveals the formation of hexagonal structure. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) images show that the morphology of the capped copper sulphide samples consists of hexagonal structure and capped cadmium has spherical shape and also confirms the crystalline nature of the particles with distinct lattice fringes. In FTIR spectroscopy, the composition of the CTAB capped CuS and CdS nanoparticles have been confirmed. The analysis of photoluminescence (PL) and optical transition show a red shift due to the reduction of band gap energy and it is attributed to the low defects and high crystallinity. The optical studies indicate that CuS and CdS nanoparticles with CTAB can be suitable for optoelectronic devices and photovoltaic applications.     

Irreversible photoinduced changes in As48S52 amorphous thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Thin amorphous As-S films were prepared using pulsed laser deposition. Raman scattering spectroscopy, variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, and optical transmittance spectra revealed irreversible photostructural effects, significant photoinduced changes of refractive index, and optical band gap energy in the films. Observed effects are discussed in terms of structural transformations of basic structural units.     

Effect of cadmium oxide incorporation on the microstructural and optical properties of pulsed laser deposited nanostructured zinc oxide thin films

CdO doped (doping concentration 0, 1, 3 and 16 wt%) ZnO nanostructured thin films are grown on quartz substrate by pulsed laser deposition and the films are annealed at temperature 500 °C. The structural, morphological and optical properties of the annealed films are systematically studied using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Micro-Raman spectra, UV–vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectra and open aperture z-scan. 1 wt% CdO doped ZnO films are annealed at different temperatures viz., 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800 °C and the structural and optical properties of these films are also investigated. The XRD patterns suggest a hexagonal wurtzite structure for the films. The crystallite size, lattice constants, stress and lattice strain in the films are calculated. The presence of high-frequency E₂ mode and the longitudinal optical A₁ (LO) modes in the Raman spectra confirms the hexagonal wurtzite structure for the films. The presence of CdO in the doped films is confirmed from the EDX spectrum. SEM and AFM micrographs show that the films are uniform and the crystallites are in the nano-dimension. AFM picture suggests a porous network structure for 3% CdO doped film. The porosity and refractive indices of the films are calculated from the transmittance and reflectance spectra. Optical band gap energy is found to decrease in the CdO doped films as the CdO doping concentration increases. The PL spectra show emissions corresponding to the near band edge (NBE) ultra violet emission and deep level emission in the visible region. The 16CdZnO film shows an intense deep green PL emission. Non-linear optical measurements using the z-scan technique indicate that the saturable absorption (SA) behavior exhibited by undoped ZnO under green light excitation (532 nm) can be changed to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) with CdO doping. From numerical simulations the saturation intensity (I_s) and the effective two-photon absorption coefficient (β) are calculated for the undoped and CdO doped ZnO films.     

Nanocrystalline ZnSe thin films prepared by solution growth technique for photosensor application

Zinc selenide (ZnSe) thin films were deposited onto the glass substrates by solution growth technique (SGT). Triethanolamine (TEA) was used as a complexing agent for uniform deposition. Deposition parameters were optimized and elemental composition was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis technique (EDAX). The SEM, AFM and XRD pattern revealed that as-deposited thin films were uniformly deposited by nanocrystalline grains distributed over the entire glass substrate. Transmission spectra showed high transmission (∼55%) with direct optical band gap energy equal to 2.71 eV. The I–V characteristic showed good photoresponse, suitable for photosensor applications.     

Comparative study of the properties of ZnO thin films deposited on poly propylene carbonate (PPC) and glass substrates

In this study, we report a comparative study of the structural, morphological, and optical properties of the deposited ZnO thin films on Poly Propylene Carbonate (PPC) and glass substrates by direct current (DC) sputtering technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra of the films on PPC and glass substrates show mainly the ZnO (002) diffraction peaks at 2θ = 34.1 and 34.3^o with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.31 and 0.34^o, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that both ZnO thin films have smooth surface. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra show two peaks, the first intense peak was found in the UV region. The second weak peak was observed in the visible region. The transmission and absorption spectra of the ZnO thin films deposited on both substrates showed that the films have good transmission in the visible region and a good absorption in the UV region. The optical energy gap (E _g) values of the deposited ZnO thin films on PPC plastic and glass substrates were derived from absorption measurements and it found to be 3.38 and 3.40 eV, respectively.     

Effects of excimer laser annealing energy on the properties of thermally evaporated tin antimony sulfide thin films and TEM characterization of the powder

Tin antimony sulfide (TAS) is one of the most promising compounds for the next generation of optoelectronic and thin film photovoltaic devices. TAS material was synthesized by a solid-state reaction using earth-abundant tin, antimony and sulfur elements. The structural properties of the TAS powder were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and selected electron diffraction (SAED) were employed to establish the crystalline nature of the powder. The TEM observations demonstrated that the powder was polycrystalline in nature with rod-shaped structure. The effects of excimer laser annealing (ELA) at different pulse energies on the structural, morphological and optical properties of thermally evaporated TAS films were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy measurements showed that the films annealed by an excimer laser of 248 nm were amorphous for weak energy densities whereas the sample irradiated with 111 mJ/cm^??2 was polycrystalline with a preferential \({\text{(}}\overline {{\text{2}}} {\text{1}}\overline {{\text{3}}} {\text{)}}\) orientation. The ELA effects on the optical properties were also studied in the wavelength range 300–1800 nm by using UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy. The absorption coefficient of all samples in the fundamental absorption region is higher than 10⁴ cm^?1. We also found that the optical band gap decreases from 2.04 to 1.84 eV after irradiating the thin films under different laser energy densities.     

Influence of gamma irradiation on structural,optical, and electrical characterization of Bi2S3 thin films

The induced effects of the gamma rays on properties of bismuth sulfide (Bi₂S₃) thin films synthesized using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) have been investigated in details in this work. The Bi₂S₃ thin films are prepared on glass substrate and then exposed with low gamma radiation dose in the range of 0–1000 Gy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the orthorhombic structural phase. Also, it was noticed in the XRD result that the crystallite size decreased from 115.29 to 73.63 nm with increasing gamma rays doses. For surface properties as well as stoichiometry of the prepared and irradiated thin film have been studied by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The optical transmission of irradiated samples increased and the energy band gap (E) decreased from 2.78 to 2.52 eV with gamma dose. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra revealed the improvement in the emission characteristics of Bi₂S₃ thin films with irradiation in the range of 250–1000 Gy. Impedance spectroscopy investigation exhibited that the resistance due to grain boundaries meaningfully contributed to the electrical characteristics of the Bi₂S₃ thin films. The achieved results suggested that Bi₂S₃ thin films are a good tool for further study of dosimetry and radiation sensing application.