Optical and structural properties of CdS thin films grown by chemical bath deposition doped with Ag by ion exchange

In this work thin CdS films using glycine as a complexing agent were fabricated by chemical bath deposition and then doped with silver (Ag), by an ion exchange process with different concentrations of AgNO₃ solutions. The CdS films were immersed in silver solutions using different concentrations during 1 min for doping and after that the films were annealed at 200 °C during 20 min for dopant diffusion after the immersion on the AgNO₃ solutions. The aim of this research was to know the effects of different concentrations of Ag on the optical and structural properties of CdS thin films. The optical band gap of the doped films was determined by transmittance measurements, with the results of transmittance varying between 35% and 70% up to 450 nm in the electromagnetic spectra and the band gap varying between 2.31 and 2.51 eV depending of the silver content. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to study the influence of silver on the CdS:Ag films, as a function of the AgNO₃ solution concentration. The crystal structure of the thin CdS:Ag films was studied by the X-ray diffraction method and the film surface morphology was studied by atomic force microscopy. Using the ion exchange process, the CdS films’ structural, optical and electric characteristics were modified according to silver nitrate concentration used.     

Temporal dynamics of upconversion luminescence in Er3+, Yb3+ co-doped crystalline KY(WO4)2 thin films

Crystalline Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ singly and doubly doped KY(WO₄)₂ thin films were grown by low-temperature liquid-phase epitaxy. Absorption, luminescence, excitation and temporal evolution measurements were carried out for both Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ transitions from 10 K to room temperature. Green Er³⁺ upconversion luminescence was observed after Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ excitation. The mechanisms responsible for the upconversion phenomena detected in each case were identified.     

Effect of Al incorporation on the structural,morphological, optoelectronic and transport properties of PbS thin films

Doping of PbS thin films with different metal atoms produce considerable changes in structural and material properties that make them useful in the technology of thin film devices. The goal of this work is to study the effects of doping on the structural, morphological, optoelectronic and transport properties of PbS thin films as a function of Al³⁺ concentration. Thin films of pure and Al doped PbS nanoparticles are prepared on soda lime glass substrates by chemical bath deposition technique. The Al content in aqueous solution is varied from 0 to 20 mg. XRD analysis of the films revealed significant enhancement in crystallinity and crystallite size up to an optimum concentration of doping. Films are polycrystalline with crystallite size 19–32 nm, having face centered cubic structure. The optical band gap energy exhibits a decreasing trend and is shifted from 2.41 to 1.34 eV with increasing Al content. The room temperature conductivity of the as-deposited PbS films is in the range of 0.78×10⁻⁸ to 0.67×10⁻⁶(Ω cm)⁻¹ with a maximum for optimum Al content. The Al doped PbS thin film, which we synthesize with optimum Al concentration of 15 mg is found to be a most suitable material for solar control coating applications.     

Characterization of gallium-doped CdS thin films grown by chemical bath deposition

Ga-doped CdS thin films, with different [Ga]/[Cd] ratios, were grown using chemical bath deposition. The effect of Ga-doping on optical properties and bandgap of CdS films is investigated. Resistivity, carrier density, and mobility of doped films were acquired using Hall effect measurements. Crystal structure as well as crystal quality and phase transition were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Micro-Raman spectroscopy. Film morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy, while film chemistry and binding states were studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). A minimum bandgap of 2.26 eV was obtained at [Ga]/[Cd] ratio of 1.7 × 10⁻². XRD studies showed Ga³⁺ ions entering the lattice substitutionally at low concentration, and interstitially at high concentration. Phase transition, due to annealing, as well as induced lattice defects, due to doping, were detected by Micro-Raman spectroscopy. The highest carrier density and lowest resistivity were obtained at [Ga]/[Cd] ratio of 3.4 × 10⁻². XPS measurements detect an increase in sulfur deficiency in doped films.     

AgSbSe2 and AgSb(S,Se)2 thin films for photovoltaic applications

Silver antimony selenide (AgSbSe₂) thin films were prepared by heating sequentially deposited multilayers of antimony sulphide (Sb₂S₃), silver selenide (Ag₂Se), selenium (Se) and silver (Ag). Sb₂S₃ thin film was prepared from a chemical bath containing SbCl₃ and Na₂S₂O₃, Ag₂Se from a solution containing AgNO₃ and Na₂SeSO₃ and Se thin films from an acidified solution of Na₂SeSO₃, at room temperature on glass substrates. Ag thin film was deposited by thermal evaporation. The annealing temperature was 350 °C in vacuum (10⁻³ Torr) for 1 h. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the thin films formed were polycrystalline AgSbSe₂ or AgSb(S,Se)₂ depending on selenium content in the precursor films. Morphology and elemental analysis of these films were done using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Optical band gap was evaluated from the UV-visible absorption spectra of these films. Electrical characterizations were done using Hall effect and photocurrent measurements. A photovoltaic structure: glass/ITO/CdS/AgSbSe₂/Al was formed, in which CdS was deposited by chemical bath deposition. J-V characteristics of this structure showed V_oc = 435 mV and J_sc = 0.08 mA/cm² under illumination using a tungsten halogen lamp. Preparation of a photovoltaic structure using AgSbSe₂ as an absorber material by a non-toxic selenization process is achieved.     

Structure, microstructure and photoluminescence properties of Fe doped SnO2 thin films

In this paper, effects of Fe doping on crystallinity, microstructure and photoluminescence (PL) properties of sol-gel derived SnO₂ thin films are reported. It is shown that doping of Fe³⁺ ions leads to crystallite size reduction and higher strain in SnO₂ thin films. The room temperature PL spectra show marked changes in intensity and blue-shift of the emission lines upon Fe doping. These observations have been correlated with structural changes and defect chemistry of Fe doped SnO₂ thin films.     

Study on ferroelectric polarization induced resistive switching characteristics of neodymium-doped bismuth ferrite thin films for random access memory applications

The present work reports on resistive switching (RS) characteristics of Neodymium (Nd)-doped bismuth ferrite (BFO) layers. The Nd (2–10 at%) doped BFO thin film layers were deposited using a spray pyrolysis method. The structural analysis reveals that a higher Nd doping concentration in BFO leads to significant distortion of the prepared Nd:BFO thin films from rhombohedral to tetragonal characteristics. The morphological analysis shows that all the deposited Nd:BFO thin films have regularly arranged grains. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis reveals that the prepared Nd:BFO thin films have a higher Fe ³⁺/Fe ²⁺ratio and less oxygen vacancy (V_O) defects which enriches the ferroelectric characteristics in Nd:BFO layers. The polarization-electric field (P-E) and RS characteristics of the fabricated Nd:BFO-based RS device were examined. It was observed that the Nd (7 at%) doped BFO RS device shows large remnant polarization (P _r) of 0.21 μC/cm² and stable RS characteristics.     

Sensitisation of erbium emission by silicon nanocrystals-doped SnO2

SnO₂ thin films undoped and doped with antimony (Sb), erbium (Er) and Si nanocrystals (Si-nc) have been grown on silicon (Si) substrate using sol-gel method. Room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurement of undoped SnO₂, under excitation at 280 nm, shows only one broad emission at 395 nm, which is related to oxygen vacancies. The PL of Er³⁺ ions was found to be enhanced after doping SnO₂ with Sb and Si-nc. The excitation process of Er is studied and discussed. The calculation of cross-section suggests a sensitisation of Er PL by Si-nc.     

Ag掺杂p型ZnO薄膜及其光电性能研究

采用超声喷雾热分解法在石英衬底上以醋酸锌水溶液为前驱体,以硝酸银水溶液为Ag掺杂源生长了Ag掺杂ZnO(ZnO：Ag)薄膜.研究了衬底温度对所得ZnO：Ag薄膜的晶体结构、电学和光学性质的影响规律.所得ZnO：Ag薄膜结构良好,在室温光致发光谱中检测到很强的近带边紫外发光峰,透射光谱中观测到非常陡峭的紫外吸收截止边和较高的可见光区透过率,表明薄膜具有较高的晶体质量与较好的光学特性.霍尔效应测试表明,在500℃下获得了p型导电的ZnO：Ag薄膜,载流子浓度为5.30×10¹⁵cm关键词： ZnO：Ag薄膜 p型掺杂 超声喷雾热分解 霍尔效应     

The impact cross section of Er3+ in ZnS

Four kinds of Er³⁺ centers in ZnS:Er³⁺ thin films have been distinguished by means of laser selective excitation. Their impact cross sections in electroluminescence (EL) and absorption cross sections in photoluminescence (PL) have been compared with each other. The average value of the impact cross section of Er³⁺ obtained by comparing the EL intensity of Er³⁺ with that of Mn²⁺ in ZnS:ErF₃, Mn²⁺ thin films is about 2×10⁻¹⁶ cm².     

Effects of hydrogen flow on properties of hydrogen doped ZnO thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

The hydrogen doped ZnO (ZnO:H) thin films were deposited on quartz glass substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The doping characteristics of ZnO:H thin films with varied hydrogen flow ratio were investigated. At low hydrogen flow ratio (H₂/(H₂+Ar)≤0.02), the ZnO:H thin films exhibited dominant (002) peaks from X-ray diffraction and the lattice constants became smaller. The particles were mainly a columnar structure. The particles’ size became smaller, and the island-like structure appeared on the thin films surface. In addition, the low resistivity properties of ZnO:H thin films was ascribed to the increase of the carriers concentration and carriers mobility; When the hydrogen flow ratio was more than 0.02 (M≥0.02), two absorption bands at 1400–1800 cm^?1 and 3200–3900 cm^?1 were observed from the FT-IR spectra, which indicated that the ZnO:H thin films had typical Zn–H bonding, O–H bonding (hydroxyl), and Zn–H–O bonding (like-hydroxyl). The scanning electron microscope (SEM) results show that a large number of hydroxyl agglomeration formed an island-like structure on the thin films surface. The absorption peak at about 575 cm^?1 in the Raman spectra indicated that oxygen vacancies (V_O) defects were produced in the process of high hydrogen doping. In this condition, the low resistivity properties of ZnO:H thin films were mainly due to the increasing electron concentration resulted from V_O. Meanwhile, the Raman absorption peaks at approximately 98 cm^?1 and 436 cm^?1 became weaker, and the (002) XRD diffraction peak quenched and the lattice constants increased, which shows that the ZnO:H thin films no longer presented a typical ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure. With the increasing of hydrogen flow ratio, the optical transmittance of ZnO:H thin films in the ultraviolet band show a clear Burstein–Moss shift effect, which further explained that electron concentration was increased due to the increasing V_O with high hydrogen doping concentration. Moreover, the optical reflectance of the thin films decreased, indicating the higher roughness of the films surface. It was noteworthy that etching effect of H plasma was obvious in the process of heavy hydrogen doping.     

The effect of annealing temperature on structural and optical properties of undoped and Cu doped CdS thin films

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) thin films were prepared chemical bath deposition technique. The films were doped with copper using the direct method consisting in the addition of a copper salt in the deposition bath of CdS. The doped films were annealed in air, at 250, 300 and 350 °C, for 1 h. The deposition films were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive analysis by X-rays (EDAX) and optical properties of CdS thin films before and after Cu doping. XRD analysis shows that the films are polycrystalline in nature with cubic crystalline structure. The various parameters such as crystallite size, micro strain and dislocation density were evaluated. SEM study shows that the total substrate surface is well covered by uniformly distributed spherical shaped grains. Optical transmittance study shows the presence of direct transition with band gap energy decrease 2.5–2.2 eV.     

Effect of Si ion irradiation on polycrystalline CdS thin film grown from novel photochemical deposition technique

CdS thin films have been deposited from aqueous solution by photochemical reactions. The solution contains Cd(CH₃COO)₂ and Na₂S₂O₃, and pH is controlled in an acidic region by adding H₂SO₄. The solution is illuminated with light from a high-pressure mercury-arc lamp. CdS thin films are formed on a glass substrate by the heterogeneous nucleation and the deposited thin films have been subjected to high-energy Si ion irradiations. Si ion irradiation has been performed with an energy of 80 MeV at fluences of 1×10¹¹, 1×10¹², 1×10¹³ and 1×10¹⁴ ions/cm² using tandem pelletron accelerator. The irradiation-induced changes in CdS thin films are studied using XRD, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence. Broadening of the PL emission peak were observed with increasing irradiation fluence, which could be attributed to the band tailing effect of the Si ion irradiation. The lattice disorder takes place at high Si ion fluences.     

溶胶-凝胶法Er2O3薄膜的结构和光学特性

针对稀土Er掺杂Si光源中Er离子掺杂浓度低的问题,采用溶胶-凝胶（Sol-gel）法在Si(100)和SiO2/Si(100)基片上旋涂法制备Er₂O₃光学薄膜,Er离子浓度与以前掺杂方法相比提高了2个数量级.900 ℃热处理获得单一立方结构的Er₂O₃薄膜材料.光致发光（PL）特性研究表明在654 nm波长的激光泵浦下,Er₂O₃薄膜材料获得了1.535 μm的发光峰,并具有较小的温度猝灭1/5.在SiO₂/Si(100)基体上制备的Er2O3薄膜材料的光致发光强度比Si(100)基体上制备的薄膜提高2-3倍.研究结果表明具有强光致发光特性的Er₂O₃薄膜是一种有前景的硅基光源和放大器材料.     

Enhancement of the upconversion photoluminescence intensity in Li and Er codoped Y2O3 nanocrystals

Infrared-to-visible upconversion luminescence spectra are investigated in Li⁺ and Er³⁺ codoped Y₂O₃ nanocrystals. By introducing Li⁺ ions, the upconverted emission intensity is found to be greatly enhanced when compared with the nanocrystals with the Li⁺ absent. The cause of the enhancement is believed to be the modification of the local symmetry of the Er³⁺ ion, which increases the intra-4f transitions of Er³⁺ ion, and the homogeneous distribution of Er³⁺. While in some other Er³⁺ doped oxides, such as ZnO, ZrO₂, etc., the upconversion intensity of Er³⁺ ions could also be greatly increased by doping Li⁺.     

W doped SnO2 growth via sol–gel routes and characterization: Nanocubes

The effects of W doping on the characteristical properties of SnO₂ thin films prepared by sol–gel spin coating method were investigated. The SnO₂ thin films were deposited at various W doping ratios and characterized by various measurements. XRD studies indicated that the undoped and W doped SnO₂ films had cubic and tetragonal phases. The SEM images of WTO thin films showed cubic shaped nanocubes corresponding to cubic phase and the smaller particles corresponding to tetragonal phase were formed on the film surfaces, and their distributions and sizes were dependent on the W doping ratio. EDX spectroscopy analyses showed that the calculated and participated atomic ratios of W/(W + Sn) (at.%) in the starting solution and in the WTO thin films were almost close. It was found that the sheet resistance depended on W doping ratio and 2.0 at.% W doped SnO₂ (WTO) exhibited lowest value of sheet resistance (7.11 × 10³ Ω/cm²).     

Er3+，Er3+/Yb3+掺杂氟化镧超微材料的光谱特性与上转换发光

采用共沉淀法制备了Er³⁺掺杂和Er³⁺/Yb³⁺共掺杂LaF₃超微材料,所制备的样品的颗粒呈球形,尺寸为250nm左右.计算得到Er³⁺单掺杂样品中对应着⁴S_3/2和⁴F_9/2能级的发光量子效率分别为67.0%和71.9%.研究发现,随着Yb³⁺离子浓度的增加 关键词： 3+')" href="#">Er³⁺ 3+')" href="#">Yb³⁺ 发光 能量传递     

Effect of Mg/Co on the properties of CdS thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique

Mg, Co doped and (Mg, Co) co-doped CdS thin films were prepared using chemical spray pyrolysis method. It is observed from the X-ray diffraction study that the deposited film exhibit cubic phase of CdS with preferred orientation along the (111) plane and incorporation of Mg and Co has been confirmed form energy dispersive analysis and XPS analysis as well. The doped and codoped CdS thin films exhibit 1LO and 2LO vibrations as confirmed by Raman spectrum. The core level XPS spectra ensures the incorporation of doping elements precisely. The morphological variations due to the incorporation of Co and Mg in CdS thin films have been observed by FE-SEM. The particle sizes and crystalline nature have been revealed from HRTEM images and corresponding SAED patterns. The co-doped CdS thin films show a significant shift blue in absorption spectrum. Improved magnetic properties have been observed for the co-doped CdS thin films.     

Preparation and photocatalytic degradation of erbium doped titanium dioxide nanorods

Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in water was examined using Er³⁺-doped TiO₂ (Er–TiO₂) nanorods prepared by a sol–gel derived electrospinning, calcination, and subsequent mechanical grinding. Different concentrations of Er dopant in the range of 0–1.0 mol% were synthesized to evaluate the effect of Er content on the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂. Among Er³⁺–TiO₂ catalysts, the 0.7 mol% Er³⁺–TiO₂ catalyst showed the highest MB degradation rate. The degradation kinetic constant (k) increased from 1.0 × 10^?3 min^?1 to 5.1 × 10^?3 min^?1 with the increase of Er³⁺ doping from 0 to 0.7 mol%, but decreased down to 2.1 × 10^?3 min^?1 when Er³⁺ content was 1.0 mol%. It can be concluded that the degradation of MB under UV radiation was more efficient with Er³⁺–TiO₂ catalyst than with pure TiO₂. The higher activity might be attributed to the transition of 4f electrons of Er³⁺ and red shifts of the optical absorption edge of TiO₂ by erbium ion doping.     

Photoluminescence of focused ion beam implanted Er3+:Y2SiO5 crystals

Erbium‐doped low symmetry Y₂SiO₅ crystals attract a lot of attention in perspective of quantum information applications. However, only doping of the samples during growth is available up to now, which yields a quite homogeneous doping density. In the present work, we deposit Er³⁺‐ions by the focused ion beam technique at yttrium sites with several fluences in one sample. With a photoluminescence study of these locally doped Er³⁺:Y₂SiO₅ crystals, we are able to evaluate the efficiency of the implantation process and develop it for the highest efficiency possible. We observe the dependence of ion activation after the post‐implantation annealing on the fluence value. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)