Morphological, microstructural and optical properties supremacy of binary composite films—A study based on Gd2O3/SiO2 system

Composites are pragmatic choices for tailoring the material to have a desired property. Besides, such thin films have scopes to display superior optical, microstructural and morphological properties which are otherwise not possible to obtain from the pure component films. Vapor-phase-mixed binary composite Gd₂O₃/SiO₂ thin film is one such interesting system where band gap as well as refractive index superiority is observed simultaneously under certain compositional mixings. Such and similar observations in composites cannot be explained by Moss empirical rule. Our systematic study on the microstructure of this composite system based on ellipsometry and scanning probe microscopy has satisfactorily provided the information that can explain such optical properties supremacy. Morphological measurements and its derived parameters like autocorrelation and height-height correlation functions have provided several clues that represent the superior grain structures of the composites. Besides, refractive index modeling through effective single oscillator model has strongly supported such analysis results favoring the superior microstructure in composite films.     

Superior refractive index tailoring properties in composite ZrO2/SiO2 thin film systems achieved through reactive electron beam codeposition process

Composite optical thin-film materials have received a significant amount of interest in order to relieve the material constraints on refractive indices as well as reducing the number of layers required in optical coating design. Amongst others binary zirconia-silica composite thin films have attracted considerable attentions due to their several favorable opto-mechanical properties. In the present studies such a composite system under certain compositional mixings displayed both refractive index and band gap supremacy over pure zirconia films violating the most popular Moss rule. This unexpected evolution has several practical applications one of which can be directly employed in extending the range of tunability of the refractive index. Besides, the probing of such a novel evolution through the analysis of ellipsometric refractive index modeling and morphological correlation functions has revealed several novel as well as superior microstructural properties in the composite thin film systems. All these characterization and analysis techniques distinctly indicate a strong interrelation between the microstructural ordering and superior optical properties of the present zirconia-silica codeposited composites.     

Optical and structural studies on Ba(Mg1/3Ta2/3)O3 thin films obtained by radiofrequency assisted pulsed plasma deposition

Single-phase Ba(Mg_1/3Ta_2/3)O₃ thin films were prepared by radiofrequency plasma beam assisted pulsed laser deposition (RF-PLD) starting from a bulk ceramic target synthesized by solid state reaction. Atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic ellipsometry were used for morphological, structural and optical characterization of the BMT thin films. The X-ray diffraction spectra show that the films exhibit a polycrystalline cubic structure. From spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis, the refractive index varies with the thin films deposition parameters. By using the transmission spectra and assuming a direct band to band transition a band gap value of ≈4.72 eV has been obtained.     

Influence of temperature annealing on optical properties of SrTiO3/BaTiO3 multilayered films on indium tin oxide

We have prepared SrTiO₃/BaTiO₃ thin films with multilayered structures deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass by a sol-gel deposition and heating at 300-650 °C. The optical properties were obtained by UV-vis spectroscopy. The films show a high transmittance (approximately 85%) in the visible region. The optical band gap of the films is tunable in the 3.64-4.19 eV range by varying the annealing temperature. An abrupt decrease towards the bulk band gap value is observed at annealing temperatures above 600 °C. The multilayered film annealed at 650 ° C exhibited the maximum refractive index of 2.09-1.91 in the 450-750 nm wavelength range. The XRD and AFM results indicate that the films annealed above 600 ° C are substantially more crystalline than the films prepared at lower temperatures which were used to change their optical band gap and complex refractive index to an extent that depended on the annealing temperature.     

Structural and optical properties of nitrogen-incorporated HfO2 gate dielectrics deposited by reactive sputtering

High-k HfO_xN_y thin films with different nitrogen-incorporation content have been fabricated on Si (1 0 0) substrate by means of radio-frequency reactive sputtering method. Analyses from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopic have indicated that the increase of the crystallization temperature of HfO₂ thin films and the decrease of the roughness root-mean-square value of HfO₂ thin films due to the incorporation of nitrogen. Based on a parameterized Tauc-Lorentz (TL) dispersion model, the optical properties of the HfO_xN_y thin films related to different nitrogen-incorporation content are systematically investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometer. Increase in the refractive index and the extinction coefficient and reduction in band gap with increase of nitrogen-incorporation content are discussed in detail.     

Optical characterization of tin containing novel chalcogen rich glassy semiconductors

Amorphous thin film materials with different compositions of Se_80?xTe₂₀Sn_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 10) system have been deposited on glass substrates by a well known thermal evaporation technique. Structural characterization of different compositions of aforementioned system has been done by Raman spectroscopy. The optical properties of thin films have been studied in the wavelength range 200–1100 nm by the utilization of the optical absorbance spectra of deposited thin films. To calculate the optical band gap from the optical absorption spectra, we have used Tauc model that follows the mechanism of allowed ‘non-direct electronic transition’. Subsequently, we have determined the energy band gap, metallization criterion and refractive index of thin films of aforesaid system. The variation in optical properties with composition has been interpreted in terms of density of defect states.     

Structure-related infrared optical properties of BaTiO3 thin films grown on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates

BaTiO₃ thin films with different thickness have been grown on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by a modified sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction analyses show that the BaTiO₃ thin films are polycrystalline. The crystalline quality of the films is improved with increasing thickness. The infrared optical properties of the BaTiO₃ thin films have been investigated using an infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry in the wave number range of 800-4000 cm⁻¹ (2.5-12.5 μm). By fitting the measured pseudodielectric functions with a three-phase model (Air/BaTiO₃/Pt), and a derived classical dispersion relation for the thin films, the optical constants and thicknesses of the thin films have been simultaneously obtained. The refractive index of the BaTiO₃ thin films increases and on the other hand, the extinction coefficient does not change with increasing thickness in the entirely measured wave number range. The dependence of the refractive index on the film thickness has been discussed in detail and was mainly due to both the crystalline quality of the films and packing density. Finally, the absorption coefficient was calculated in the infrared region for applications in the pyroelectric IR detectors.     

Optical and acoustic properties of TeO2/WO3 glasses with small amount of additive ZrO2

The optical and acoustic properties of tellurite glasses in the system TeO₂/ZrO₂/WO₃ have been investigated. The refractive index at different wavelengths and the optical spectra of the glasses have been measured. From the refractive index and absorption edge studies for prepared glasses, the optical parameter viz; optical band gap (E_opt), Urbach energy, (ΔE), dispersion energy, E_d, and the average oscillator energy, E₀, have been calculated. Sound velocities were measured by pulse echo technique. From these velocities and densities values, various elastic moduli were calculated. The variations in the refractive index, optical energy gap and elastic moduli with WO₃ content have been discussed in terms of the glass structure. Quantitatively, we used the bond compression model for analyzing the room temperature elastic moduli data. By calculating the number of bonds per unit volume, the average stretching force constant, and the average ring size we can extract valuable information about the structure of the present glasses.     

Structural, optical and magnetic properties of Nd-doped BiFeO3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Nd-doped BiFeO₃ thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition on quartz substrate and their structural, optical and magnetic properties have been studied. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that Nd addition caused structural distortion even with 5% of Nd concentration, additional secondary phase appeared in all samples but its intensity was greatly reduced with Nd addition. Doping-induced variations in texture and structure modifying both magnetic and optical properties of BiFeO₃ thin films. The energy band gap decreases while the refractive index increases with addition of Nd³⁺ in BiFeO₃ for Bi³⁺. These variations in energy band gap and refractive index have been explained on the basis of density of states and increase in disorders in the system. All the samples were found to exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature and the saturation magnetization increases with the increase in structural distortion with addition of Nd. Finally, Nd-doping modifies the physical properties of BiFeO₃ in comparison to undoped BiFeO₃ thin films.     

Derivation of the optical constants of spin coated CeO2-TiO2-ZrO2 thin films prepared by sol-gel route

Ternary thin films of cerium titanium zirconium mixed oxide were prepared by the sol-gel process and deposited by a spin coating technique at different spin speeds (1000-4000 rpm). Ceric ammonium nitrate, Ce(NO₃)₆(NH₄)₂, titanium butoxide, Ti[O(CH₂)₃CH₃]₄, and zirconium propoxide, Zr(OCH₂CH₂CH₃)₄, were used as starting materials. Differential calorimetric analysis (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were carried out on the CeO₂-TiO₂-ZrO₂ gel to study the decomposition and phase transition of the gel. For molecular, structural, elemental, and morphological characterization of the films, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were carried out. All the ternary oxide thin films were amorphous. The optical constants (refractive index, extinction coefficient, band gap) and thickness of the films were determined in the 350-1000 nm wavelength range by using an nkd spectrophotometer. The refractive index, extinction coefficient, and thickness of the films were changed by varying the spin speed. The oscillator and dispersion energies were obtained using the Wemple-DiDomenico dispersion relationship. The optical band gap is independent of the spin speed and has a value of about E_g≈2.82±0.04 eV for indirect transition.     

Preparation and characterization of electrodeposited Sb2Se3 thin films from non-aqueous media

Semiconducting Sb₂Se₃ thin films have been prepared onto the stainless steel and fluorine doped tin oxide coated glass substrates from non-aqueous media using an electrodeposition technique. The electrodeposition potentials for different bath compositions and concentrations of solution have been estimated from the polarization curves. SbCl₃ and SeO₂ in the volumetric proportion as 1:1 with their equimolar solution concentration of 0.05 M form good quality films. The films are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical absorption techniques. The SEM studies show that the film covers the total substrate surface with uneven surface morphology. The XRD patterns of the films obtained by varying compositions and concentrations show that the as-deposited films are polycrystalline with relatively higher grain size for 1:1 composition and 0.05 M concentration. The optical band gap energy for indirect transition in Sb₂Se₃ thin films is found to be 1.195 eV.     

Determination and analysis of dispersive optical constant of TiO2 and Ti2O3 thin films

Electron beam evaporation technique was used to prepare TiO₂ and Ti₂O₃ thin films onto glass substrates of thicknesses 50, 500 and 1000 nm for each sample. The structural investigations revealed that the as-deposited films are amorphous in nature. Transmittance measurements in the wavelength range (350-2000 nm) were used to calculate the refractive index n and the absorption index k using Swanepoel's method. The optical constants such as optical band gap , optical conductivity σ_opt, complex dielectric constant, relaxation time τ and dissipation factor tan δ were determined. The analysis of the optical absorption data revealed that the optical band gap E_g was indirect transitions. The optical dispersion parameters E_o and E_d were determined according to Wemple and Didomenico method.     

Effect of gamma doses on the optical parameters of Se76Te15Sb9 thin films

The effect of γ-radiation dose on the optical spectra and optical energy gap (E_opt.) of Se₇₆Te₁₅Sb₉ thin films was studied. The dependence of the absorption coefficient (α) on the photon energy (hν) was determined as a function of radiation dose. The films show indirect allowed interband transition that is influenced by the radiation dose. Both the optical energy gap and the absorption coefficient were found to be dose dependent. The indirect optical energy gap was found to decrease from 1.257 to 0.664 eV with increasing the radiation dose from 10 to 250 krad, respectively. The results can be discussed on the basis of γ-irradiation-induced defects in the film. The width of the tail of localized states in the band gap (E_e) was evaluated using the Urbach edge method. The refractive index (n) was determined from the analysis of the transmittance and reflectance data. Analysis of the refractive index yields the values of high frequency dielectric constant (ε_∞) and the carrier concentration (N/m^*). The dependence of refractive index on the radiation dose has also been discussed. Other optical parameters such as real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant (ε₁, ε₂) and the extinction coefficient (k) have been evaluated. It was found that the spectral absorption coefficient is expected to a suitable control parameter of γ-irradiation-sensitive elements of dosimetric systems for high energy ionizing radiation (0.06-1.33 MeV).     

Third-order optical nonlinearities of lead-free (Na1−xKx)0.5Bi0.5TiO3 thin films

(Na_1−xK_x)_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃ (NKBT) (x = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) thin films with good surface morphology and rhombohedral perovskite structure were fabricated on quartz substrates by a sol-gel process. The fundamental optical constants (the band gaps, linear refractive indices and absorption coefficients) of the films were obtained through optical transmittance measurements. The nonlinear optical properties were investigated by Z-scan technique performed at 532 nm with a picosecond laser. A two-photon absorption effect closely related with potassium-doping content was found in thin films, and the nonlinear refractive index n₂ increases evidently with potassium-doping. The real part of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ is much larger than its imaginary part, indicating that the third-order optical nonlinear response of the NKBT films is dominated by the optical nonlinear refractive behavior. These results show that NKBT thin films have potential applications in nonlinear optics.     

Ellipsometric characterization of PbI2 thin film on glass

The optical properties of polycrystalline lead iodide thin film grown on Corning glass substrate have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry. A structural model is proposed to account for the optical constants of the film and its thickness. The optical properties of the PbI₂ layer were modeled using a modified Cauchy dispersion formula. The optical band gap E_g has been calculated based on the absorption coefficient (α) data above the band edge and from the incident photon energy at the maximum index of refraction. The band gap was also measured directly from the plot of the first derivative of the experimental transmission data with respect to the light wavelength around the transition band edge. The band gap was found to be in the range of 2.385±0.010 eV which agrees with the reported experimental values. Urbach's energy tail was observed in the absorption trend below the band edge and was found to be related to Urbach's energy of 0.08 eV.     

Ge20Sb15Se65薄膜的热致光学特性变化研究

采用磁控溅射法制备了Ge₂₀Sb₁₅Se₆₅薄膜, 研究热处理温度(150—400 ℃)对薄膜光学特性的影响. 通过分光光度计、X射线衍射仪、显微拉曼光谱仪对热处理前后薄膜样品 的光学特性和微观结构进行了表征, 并根据Swanepoel方法以及Tauc公式分别计算了薄膜折射率色散曲线和光学带隙等参数. 结果表明当退火温度(T_a)小于薄膜的玻璃转化温度(T_g)时,薄膜的光学带隙(E_g^opt)随着退火温度的增加由1.845 eV上升至1.932 eV, 而折射率由2.61降至2.54; 当退火温度大于薄膜的玻璃转化温度时,薄膜的光学带隙随退火温度的增加由1.932 eV降至1.822 eV, 折射率则由2.54增至2.71. 最后利用Mott和Davis提出的非晶材料由非晶到晶态的结构转变模型对结果进行了解释, 并通过薄膜XRD和Raman光谱进一步验证了结构变化是薄膜热致变化的重要原因. 关键词： 20Sb₁₅Se₆₅薄膜')" href="#">Ge₂₀Sb₁₅Se₆₅薄膜 热处理 光学带隙 折射率     

Influence of ZrO2 in HfO2 on reflectance of HfO2/SiO2 multilayer at 248 nm prepared by electron-beam evaporation

Influence of ZrO₂ in HfO₂ on the reflectance of HfO₂/SiO₂ multilayer at 248 nm was investigated. Two kinds of HfO₂ with different ZrO₂ content were chosen as high refractive index material and the same kind of SiO₂ as low refractive index material to prepare the mirrors by electron-beam evaporation. The impurities in two kinds of HfO₂ starting coating materials and in their corresponding single layer thin films were determined through glow discharge mass spectrum (GDMS) technology and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) equipment, respectively. It showed that between the two kinds of HfO₂, either the bulk materials or their corresponding films, the difference of ZrO₂ was much larger than that of the other impurities such as Ti and Fe. It is the Zr element that affects the property of thin films. Both in theoretical and in experimental, the mirror prepared with the HfO₂ starting material containing more Zr content has a lower reflectance. Because the extinction coefficient of zirconia is relatively high in UV region, it can be treated as one kind of absorbing defects to influence the optical property of the mirrors.     

Optical and electrical properties of plasma-oxidation derived HfO2 gate dielectric films

High-k gate dielectric HfO₂ thin films have been deposited on Si(1 0 0) by using plasma oxidation of sputtered metallic Hf thin films. The optical and electrical properties in relation to postdeposition annealing temperatures are investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement shows that the as-deposited HfO₂ films are basically amorphous. Based on a parameterized Tauc-Lorentz dispersion mode, excellent agreement has been found between the experimental and the simulated spectra, and the optical constants of the as-deposited and annealed films related to the annealing temperature are systematically extracted. Increases in the refractive index n and extinction coefficient k, with increasing annealing temperature are observed due to the formation of more closely packed thin films and the enhancement of scattering effect in the targeted HfO₂ film. Change of the complex dielectric function and reduction of optical band gap with an increase in annealing temperature are discussed. The extracted direct band gap related to the structure varies from 5.77, 5.65, and 5.56 eV for the as-deposited and annealed thin films at 700 and 800 °C, respectively. It has been found from the C-V measurement the decrease of accumulation capacitance values upon annealing, which can be contributed to the growth of the interfacial layer with lower dielectric constant upon postannealing. The flat-band voltage shifts negatively due to positive charge generated during postannealing.     

Determination of optical properties in nanostructured thin films using the Swanepoel method

We present the methodological framework of the Swanepoel method for the spectrophotometric determination of optical properties in thin films using transmittance data. As an illustrative case study, we determined the refractive index, thickness, absorption index, and extinction coefficient of a nanostructured 3 mol% Y₂O₃-doped ZrO₂ (yttria stabilized zirconia, 3YSZ) thin film prepared by the sol-gel method and deposited by dipping onto a soda-lime glass substrate. In addition, using the absorption index obtained with the Swanepoel method, we calculated the optical band gap of the film. The refractive index was found to increase, then decrease, and finally stabilize with increasing wavelength of the radiation, while the absorption index and extinction coefficient decreased monotonically to zero. These trends are explained in terms of the location of the absorption bands. We also deduced that this 3YSZ thin film has a direct optical band gap of 4.6 eV. All these results compared well with those given in the literature for similar thin films. This suggests that the Swanepoel method has an important role to play in the optical characterization of ceramic thin films.     

Effect of H irradiation on the optical properties of vacuum evaporated AgInSe2 thin films

We prepared polycrystalline AgInSe₂ thin films by vacuum evaporation on glass substrate at a high temperature using the stoichiometric powder. The thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction and UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. The samples were subjected to the irradiation of 1.26 MeV protons (H⁺). The effect of irradiation on the optical properties has been investigated for different doses of H⁺. It is observed that the band gap of silver indium selenide thin films decreases gradually with ion irradiation dose.