Influence of growth temperature and deposition duration on the structure,surface morphology and optical properties of InN/YSZ (1 0 0)

InN films with the wurtzite structure have been grown directly on YSZ (1 0 0) substrate by the RF-magnetron sputtering technique. Strongly (0 0 2) oriented films with smooth surfaces (0.7–2.9 nm surface roughness depending on substrate temperature), were grown within 30 min. Films deposited for 60 min developed three-dimensional (3D) pyramidal islands on top of their surfaces, which diminished the residual elastic strain. The optical absorption edge and PL peak energy around 1.7 eV were found to redshift with increasing film thickness and substrate temperature.     

Photoluminescence, FTIR and X-ray diffraction studies on undoped and Al-doped ZnO thin films grown on polycrystalline α-alumina substrates by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

Undoped and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have been grown on polycrystalline α-alumina substrates by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) technique using zinc acetate dihydrate and aluminum chloride hexahydrate (Al source) dissolved in methanol, ethanol and deionized water. A number of techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize the obtained ZnO thin films. It was seen that the orientation changed with increase in substrate temperature. During the ZnO deposition Zn source reacted with polycrystalline α-Al₂O₃ substrate to form an intermediate ZnAl₂O₄ spinel layer. It has been interestingly found that the intensity of green emission at 2.48 eV remarkably increased when the obtained ZnO:Al films were deposited at 380 °C. The FTIR absorbance intensity of spectroscopic band at 447±6 cm⁻¹ is very sensitive to oxygen sublattice disorder resulting from non-stoichiometry, which is consistent with the result of PL characterization.     

高脉冲功率能量PLD法制备MgZnO薄膜中的沉积机理

用PLD法成功制备了一系列高质量的MgZnO薄膜。实验中发现高脉冲能量沉积薄膜的结构和发光特性随基片温度的变化规律与低脉冲能量下的结果不一样:基片在室温时高脉冲能量制备薄膜的XRD峰的半峰全宽比高基片温度时的结果相对更小;AFM显示其颗粒变大,柱状生长突出;PL谱紫峰与绿峰强度比最大,结晶质量反而提高。另一方面,与低脉冲能量时相反,增大氧气压强后高脉冲能量沉积的薄膜XRD半峰全宽变窄。结合实验现象和表征,合理解释了高脉冲能量沉积的机理。室温制备高质量MgZnO薄膜的PLD沉积机理对于以后在柔性衬底上沉积薄膜的研究有重要的参考价值。     

The effect of oxygen pressure on the structure, morphology and photoluminescence intensity of pulsed laser deposited Gd2O2S:Tb3+ thin film phosphor

Luminescent Gd₂O₂S:Tb³⁺ phosphor thin films were grown on Si (100) substrates, using the pulsed laser deposition technique. The films were grown in 100 to 300 mTorr oxygen gas (O₂) atmospheres when the substrate temperature was kept constant at 400 or 600°C. The effect of the O₂ ambient on the structure and morphological properties of the films were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. Spherical nanoparticles deposited on the Si (100) substrates were shown to crystallize in the hexagonal structure of Gd₂O₂S. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of all the films were characterized by a stable green emission peak with a maximum at 545 nm. Improved PL intensity was observed from the films deposited at higher oxygen pressures and higher substrate temperatures. Particles sizes of the nanoparticles deposited under the different conditions varied between 19 and 36 nm for the different samples. Smaller and more densely packet particles were produces at the higher O₂ pressures and the higher temperature.     

The effects of substrate temperature on the structure, morphology and photoluminescence properties of pulsed laser deposited SrAl2O4:Eu,Dy thin films

In this study, SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺,Dy³⁺ thin film phosphors were deposited on Si (1 0 0) substrates using the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The films were deposited at different substrate temperatures in the range of 40-700 °C. The structure, morphology and topography of the films were determined by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Photoluminescence (PL) data was collected in air at room temperature using a 325 nm He-Cd laser as an excitation source. The PL spectra of all the films were characterized by green phosphorescent photoluminescence at ∼530 nm. This emission was attributed to 4f⁶5d¹→4f⁷ transition of Eu²⁺. The highest PL intensity was observed from the films deposited at a substrate temperature of 400 °C. The effects of varying substrate temperature on the PL intensity were discussed.     

Influence of atmospheric exposure of tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq<Subscript>3</Subscript>): a photoluminescence and absorption study

We have investigated the effects of atmospheric exposure on the properties of tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq₃) thin films by photoluminescence (PL) and UV-Vis absorption measurements. Alq₃ films were evaporated on glass substrates at different temperatures. The influence of annealing on the environmental stability of the films has also been investigated. It has been found that deposition at higher substrate temperature and annealing of the samples deposited at room temperature yield an improvement in the environmental stability of the films, i.e. less decrease in the PL intensity over time with exposure to atmosphere, as well as increased PL intensity. To investigate further the effects of the air exposure, films deposited at room temperature were stored for four days in air, nitrogen, and oxygen. No decrease in PL intensity has been found for storage in nitrogen, while the decrease for the film stored in oxygen was smaller than that for the film stored in air, indicating that both humidity and oxygen play a role in the PL intensity decrease in Alq₃ thin films. PACS 78.55.Kz; 78.40.Me     

Influence of Al doping on microstructure,morphology, optical and photoluminescence properties of pyrolytic ZnO thin films prepared in an ambient atmosphere

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and aluminium (Al) doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films have been fabricated by spray pyrolysis technique in normal atmospheric condition. Samples of different Al-concentrations (0–5% Al) were deposited at 350 °C onto glass substrate to study the structural, morphological, optical and photoluminescence properties. X-ray diffraction study confirms that the films are polycrystalline having hexagonal structure. SEM images show that the films have rope and tube like morphology. Optical properties, such as transmittance, optical band gap, extinction coefficient, refractive index, optical conductivity, dielectric constants and electron energy loss functions were analyzed and discussed. Results show that the optical parameters have been changed significantly with Al-doping concentration. The photoluminescence spectra indicate that the PL peaks originated from deep level emissions (DLE) with different intensities for ZnO and Al-doped ZnO films.     

HA/Bioglass composite films deposited by pulsed laser with different substrate temperature

In this experiment, the HA/Bioglass composite films on Ti–6Al–4V were deposited by a pulsed laser at Ar atmosphere, and the influence of substrate temperature on the morphology, phase constitutions, bonding configurations and adhesive strength of the films was studied. The obtained films were characterized by an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), scratch apparatus, and so on. The results show that the amount of the droplets, the crystallinity, and the critical load of the deposited films all increase with the increase of the substrate temperature; however, the substrate temperature has little influence on the functional groups of the films.     

Effect of temperature on pulsed laser deposition of ZnO films

ZnO thin films have been deposited on Si(1 1 1) substrates at different substrate temperature by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of ZnO target in oxygen atmosphere. An Nd:YAG pulsed laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm was used as laser source. The influences of the deposition temperature on the thickness, crystallinity, surface morphology and optical properties of ZnO films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), photoluminescence (PL) spectrum and infrared spectrum. The results show that in our experimental conditions, the ZnO thin films deposited at 400 °C have the best surface morphology and crystalline quality. And the PL spectrum with the strongest ultraviolet (UV) peak and blue peak is observed in this condition.     

Effect of annealing upon the structure and adhesion properties of sputtered bio-glass/titanium coatings

Bio-glass films were deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique onto medical grade Ti6Al7Nb alloy substrates from prepared silica based bio-glass target. A low deposition temperature was used (150 °C) and three different working pressures, followed by annealing in air at 550 and 750 °C. A quasi-stoichiometric target to substrate atomic transfer was found for Si, Ca and P, along with strong enrichment in Na and depletion in K and Mg, as evidenced by the energy dispersive microanalysis. The best results, taking into account stoichiometry and surface roughness, were obtained for the BG layers deposited at 0.3 Pa argon working pressure. The infrared spectroscopy of the as-sputtered and of the annealed films evidenced the characteristic molecular vibrations of silicate, phosphate and carbonate functional groups. The as-deposited films are amorphous and became partly crystalline after annealing at 750 °C, as evidenced by X-ray diffraction. The pull-out measurements, performed with a certified pull-test machine, gave very strong film–substrate adhesion strength values. For the non-crystalline layers, the pull-out strength is higher than 85 MPa, and decreases after annealing at 750 °C to 72.9 ± 7.1 MPa. The main objective of this work was to establish the influence of the working pressure upon the composition and morphology of the as-deposited films, and of the annealing temperature upon structure and film–substrate adhesion.     

Influence of Al-doping on the structure and optical properties of ZnO films

Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) thin films with c-axis preferred orientation were deposited on glass substrates using the radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of Al concentrations on the microstructure and the luminescence properties of the ZnO:Al thin films were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results showed that the crystallization of the films was promoted by appropriate Al concentrations; the photoluminescence spectra (PL) of the samples were measured at room temperature. Strong blue peak located at 437 nm (2.84 eV) and two weak green peaks located at about 492 nm (2.53 eV) and 524 nm (2.37 eV) were observed from the PL spectra of the four samples. The origin of these emissions was discussed. In addition, absorption and transmittance properties of the samples were researched by UV spectrophotometer; the UV absorption edge shifted to a shorter wavelength first as Al was incorporated, and then to a longer wavelength with the increasing Al concentrations. The optical band gaps calculated based on the quantum confinement model are in good agreement with the experimental values.     

Structural characterization and optoelectronic properties of GaN thin films on Si(111) substrates using pulsed laser deposition assisted by gas discharge

GaN films have been grown on Si(111) substrates with a thin AlN buffer layer using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) assisted by gas discharge. The crystalline quality, surface morphology and optoelectronic properties of the deposited films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and room-temperature Van der Pauw–Hall measurements. The influence of the deposition temperature in the range 637–1037 K on the crystallinity of GaN films, the laser incident energy in the range 150–250 mJ/pulse on the surface morphology and the optoelectronic properties were systematically studied. The XRD analysis shows that the crystalline quality of the GaN films improves with increasing deposition temperature to 937 K, but further increase of the deposition temperature to 1037 K leads to the degradation of the crystalline quality. AFM results show that the surface roughness of the GaN films can be decreased with increasing laser incident energy to 220 mJ/pulse. Further increase of the laser incident energy to 250 mJ/pulse leads to an increase in the surface roughness. The optoelectronic properties of GaN films were also improved by increasing the laser incident energy to 220 mJ/pulse. GaN films which have a n-type carrier concentration of 1.26×10¹⁷ cm^-3 and a mobility of 158.1 cm²/Vs can be deposited at a substrate temperature of 937 K, a deposition pressure of 20 Pa and a laser incident energy of 220 mJ/pulse. Their room-temperature PL spectra exhibit a strong band-edge emission at 365 nm. PACS 81.15.Fg; 81.05.Ea; 78.20.-e; 73.61.Ey; 78.66.Fd     

生长温度对磁控溅射ZnO薄膜的结晶特性和光学性能的影响

采用反应射频磁控溅射方法，在Si (100) 基片上制备了具有高c轴择优取向的ZnO薄膜.利用 原子力显微镜、透射电子显微镜、X射线衍射分析、拉曼光谱等表征技术，研究了沉积温度 对ZnO薄膜的表面形貌、晶粒尺度、应力状态等结晶性能的影响；通过沉积温度对透射光谱 和光致荧光光谱的影响，探讨了ZnO薄膜的结晶特性与光学性能之间的关系.研究结果显示， 在室温至500℃的范围内，ZnO薄膜的晶粒尺寸随沉积温度的增加而增加，在沉积温度为500 ℃时达到最大；当沉积温度为750℃时，ZnO薄膜的晶粒尺度有所减小；在室温至750℃的范 围内，薄膜中ZnO晶粒与Si基体之间均存在着相对固定的外延关系；在沉积温度低于500℃时 ，制备的ZnO薄膜处于压应变状态，而750℃时沉积的薄膜表现为张应变状态.沉积温度的不 同导致ZnO薄膜的折射率、消光系数、光学禁带宽度以及光致荧光特性的变化，沉积温度对 紫外光致荧光特性起着决定性的作用.此外，探讨了影响薄膜近紫外光致荧光发射的可能因 素. 关键词： ZnO薄膜 表面形貌 微观结构 光学常数     

Influence of Al concentration on electrical, structural and optical properties of Al-As codoped p-ZnO thin films

We report the influence of Al concentration on electrical, structural, optical and morphological properties of Al-As codoped p-ZnO thin films using RF magnetron sputtering. Al-As codoped p-ZnO films with different Al concentrations were fabricated using As back diffusion from the GaAs substrate and sputtering Al₂O₃ mixed ZnO targets (1, 2 and 4 at%). The grown films were investigated by Hall effect measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), photoluminescence (PL) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study the electrical, structural, optical and morphological properties of the films. From the XRD, it was observed that both full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) and c-axis lattice constant have similar trends with respect to Al concentration. Hall measurements showed that the hole concentration increases as the Al concentration increases from 10¹⁵ to 10²⁰ cm⁻³. The increase in hole concentration upon codoping was supported by the red shift in the near-band-edge (NBE) emission observed from room temperature PL spectra. The proposed p-type mechanism due to As_Zn-2V_Zn complex was confirmed by low temperature PL and XPS analysis. The low FWHM, resistivity and peak-to-valley roughness observed by XRD, Hall measurement and AFM, respectively, suggest that 1 at% Al-doped ZnO:As film is the best codoped film.     

Effect of substrate and annealing on the structural and optical properties of ZnO:Al films

ZnO:Al thin films with c-axis preferred orientation were deposited on glass and Si substrates using RF magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of substrate on the structural and optical properties of ZnO:Al films were investigated. The results showed a strong blue peak from glass-substrate ZnO:Al film whose intensity became weak when deposited on Si substrate. However, the full width at half maxima (FWHM) of the Si-substrate ZnO:Al (0 0 2) peaks decreased evidently and the grain size increased. Finally, we discussed the influence of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of Si-substrate ZnO:Al films. After annealing, the crystal quality of Si-substrate ZnO:Al thin films was markedly improved and the intensity of blue peak (∼445 nm) increased noticeably. This observation may indicate that the visible emission properties of the ZnO:Al films are dependent more on the film crystallinity than on the film stoichiometry.     

Structural and physical properties of ZnO:Al films grown on glass by direct current magnetron sputtering with the oblique target

ZnO:Al films were deposited on glass substrates at 300 K and 673 K by direct current magnetron sputtering with the oblique target. The Ar pressure was adjusted to 0.4 Pa and 1.2 Pa, respectively. All the films have a wurtzite structure and grow with a c-axis orientation in the film growth direction. The films grow mainly with columnar grains perpendicular to the substrate and some granular grains also exist in the films. The film deposited at 673 K and 0.4 Pa has the largest grains whereas that prepared at 300 K and 0.4 Pa consists of the smallest grains and is porous. The films exhibit an n-type semiconducting behavior at room temperature. The ZnO:Al film deposited at 673 K and 0.4 Pa has the lowest resistivity (3.40 × 10⁻³ Ω cm), the highest free electron concentration (4.63 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³) and a moderate Hall mobility (4.0 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). The film deposited at 300 K and 0.4 Pa has the highest resistivity and the lowest free electron concentration and Hall mobility. A temperature dependence of the resistivity reveals that the carrier transport mechanism is Mott’s variable range hopping in the temperature region below 100 K and thermally activated band conduction above 215 K. The activation energy for the film deposited at 300 K and 0.4 Pa is 41 meV and that for the other films is about 35 meV. All the films have an average optical transmittance of over 85% in the visible wavelength range. The absorption edge of the film deposited at 300 K and 0.4 Pa shifts to the longer wavelength (redshift) relative to the films prepared under the other conditions.     

Solid-state reaction synthesis of boron carbonitride nanotubes

ZnO films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering at the substrate temperature of 120∼420°C. XRD measurements revealed the improvement of crystalline quality and grain size of the films with substrate temperature. The dielectric function of the films was determined by fitting the experimental transmission spectra with Tauc–Lorentz (TL) model and a single Lorentzian oscillator (SLO) dispersion function in the energy range of 1∼5 eV. The optical properties of the ZnO films strongly depended on the substrate temperature. The optical band gap and the Penn gap of the ZnO films increased with the substrate temperature. The band gap of the ZnO films indicated a direct interband transition between the valence and conduction band, and the change of the in-plane film stress promoted the enhancement of the band gap. These results of the optical properties of the ZnO films might be very meaningful to the application in the window design in solar cells.     

Microstructures and optical properties of Cu-doped ZnO films prepared by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering

Pure and Cu-doped ZnO (ZnO:Cu) thin films were deposited on glass substrates using radio frequency (RF) reactive magnetron sputtering. The effect of substrate temperature on the crystallization behavior and optical properties of the ZnO:Cu films have been studied. The crystal structures, surface morphology and optical properties of the films were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a fluorescence spectrophotometer, respectively. The results indicated that ZnO films showed a stronger preferred orientation toward the c-axis and a more uniform grain size after Cu-doping. As for ZnO:Cu films, the full width at half maxima (FWHM) of (0 0 2) diffraction peaks decreased first and then increased, reaching a minimum of about 0.42° at 350 °C and the compressive stress of ZnO:Cu decreased gradually with the increase of substrate temperature. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra measured at room temperature revealed two blue and two green emissions. Intense blue-green luminescence was obtained from the sample deposited at higher substrate temperature. Finally, we discussed the influence of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO:Cu films. The quality of ZnO:Cu film was markedly improved and the intensity of blue peak (∼485 nm) and green peak (∼527 nm) increased noticeably after annealing. The origin of these emissions was discussed.     

The comparison between CdS thin films grown on Si(111) substrate and quartz substrate by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition

Two kinds of cadmium sulfate (CdS) thin films have been grown at 600 °C onto Si(111) and quartz substrates using femtosecond pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The influence of substrates on the structural and optical properties of the CdS thin films grown by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition have been studied. The CdS thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. Although CdS thin films deposited both on Si(111) and quartz substrates were polycrystalline and hexagonal as shown by the XRD , SEM and AFM results, the crystalline quality and optical properties were found to be different. The size of the grains for the CdS thin film grown on Si(111) substrate were observed to be larger than that of the CdS thin film grown on quartz substrate, and there is more microcrystalline perpendicularity of c-axis for the film deposited on the quartz substrate than that for the films deposited on the Si substrate. In addition, in the PL spectra, the excitonic peak is more intense and resolved for CdS film deposited on quartz than that for the CdS film deposited on Si(111) substrate. The LO and TO Raman peaks in the CdS films grown on Si(111) substrate and quartz substrate are different, which is due to higher stress and bigger grain size in the CdS film grown on Si(111) substrate, than that of the CdS film grown on the amorphous quartz substrate. All this suggests that the substrates have a significant effect on the structural and optical properties of thin CdS films. PACS 81.15.Fg; 81.05.Ea; 78.20.-e; 78.67.-n; 42.62.-b     

Photocatalytic and optical properties of titanium dioxide thin films prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Titanium dioxide thin films have been deposited by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) over sodalime glass substrates at substrate temperatures ranging from 250 °C to 450 °C. The effect of deposition temperature on the structure and microstructure of the obtained films has been studied by x-rays diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. Diffraction patterns show the existence of a pure anatase phase beside a texture change with the increase of deposition temperature. Micrographs show grain fragmentation with the increase in deposition temperature. UV–Vis. spectra have been recorded by spectrophotometery. The optical energy gap has been calculated for the deposited films from the spectrophotometrical data. Photocatalytic experiments have been carried out. The photocatalytic activity has been found to decrease with the increase in deposition temperature.