Raman spectroscopy and low temperature electrical conductivity study of thermally evaporated CdS thin films

A systematic study has been carried out on properties of CdS thin films grown on glass substrates by thermal route and growth parameters have been optimized to achieve near stoichiometry. Raman spectroscopy of the films has been carried out to get more insight on chemical and structural information of the films. Photoluminescence study was carried out to get the knowledge of defect-states which play major role in transport mechanisms. In order to obtain electrical parameters, Hall measurement has been carried out by van der Pauw’s technique at room temperature. Also, variation of electrical resistivity of the films at temperature range 20–300 K has been studied. Finally effect of post deposition annealing on the structural, optical and electrical properties of these films has been studied.     

Optical absorption and electrical conductivity of flash evaporated CuGaTe2 thin films

The optical absorption edge of CuGaTe₂ thin films in the energy range 1 to 2·3 eV was studied. The characteristic band gaps were found to be 1·23 eV and 1·28 eV whereas the acceptor ionization energy was 170 meV. Electrical conductivity measurements were carried out in the temperature range 300–550 K and two acceptor states with ionization energies 400 meV and 140 meV were found. The origin of acceptor states is explained based on covalent model.     

Structural and electrical properties of evaporated Fe thin films

Series of Fe thin films have been prepared by thermal evaporation onto glass and Si(1 0 0) substrates. The Rutherford backscattering (RBS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the four point probe techniques have been used to investigate the structural and electrical properties of these Fe thin films as a function of the substrate, the Fe thickness t in the 76-431 nm range and the deposition rate. The Fe/Si samples have a 〈1 1 0〉 for all thicknesses, whereas the Fe/glass grows with a strong 〈1 0 0〉 texture; as t increases (>100 nm), the preferred orientation changes to 〈1 1 0〉. The compressive stress in Fe/Si remains constant over the whole thickness range and is greater than the one in Fe/glass which is relieved when t > 100 nm. The grain size D values are between 9.2 and 30 nm. The Fe/glass films are more electrically resistive than the Fe/Si(1 0 0) ones. Diffusion at the grain boundary seems to be the predominant factor in the electrical resistivity ρ values with the reflection coefficient R greater in Fe/glass than in Fe/Si. For the same thickness (100 nm), the decrease of the deposition rate from 4.3 to 0.3 Å/s did not affect the texture and the reflection coefficient R but led to an increase in D and a decrease in the strain and in ρ for both Fe/glass and Fe/Si systems. On the other hand, keeping the same deposition rate (0.3 Å/s) and increasing the thickness t from 76 to 100 nm induced different changes in the two systems.     

Preparation and electrical conductivity of LISICON thin films

LISICON thin films have been prepared with RF sputtering and subsequent heat-treatment. The crystal phases of sputtered films depend on the sputtering conditions, especially the target composition and ambient gas atmosphere. Though the as-sputtered films in Ar-O₂ mixed gas (target composition: Li₃Zn_0.5GeO₄+0.5 ZnO, gas pressure: 9×10^-2 Torr, oxygen gas content: 74.6%) were amorphous; LISICON single phase thin films were obtained after annealing at 600°C for 6 h. The conductivity of the film at 500°C is 5×10^-3ω^-1cm^-1 which is slightly lower than that for ceramic Li₃Zn_0.5GeO₄.     

Studies on evaporated titanium oxide thin films for oxygen gas detection

Present work deals with the preparation of TiO₂ thin films of different thicknesses by PVD technique using an electron beam and to characterize the films for oxygen gas detection. The films were characterized using optical transmission measurements, XRD and atomic force microscopy. From the spectral data, the extinction, absorption coefficient and refractive index of the films are evaluated and reported. The optical band gap energy varies between 3 and 3.68 eV. The XRD pattern confirms the formation of polycrystalline anatase structure of Titanium with preferred orientation of (110) plane. The AFM images indicate the presence of coarse and fine grains with uniform as well as smooth surfaces over the entire range of the analyzed surface. Response characteristics of TiO₂ thin films for oxygen gas detection are studied, which indicate a low response time of 120 seconds and high sensitivity of 16 at the operating temperature 450 °C. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Ionic Devices, Anna University, Chennai, India, Nov. 28–30, 2003.     

Microstructures and electrical conductivity of nanocrystalline ceria-based thin films

Ceria-based thin films are potential materials for use as gas-sensing layers and electrolytes in micro-solid oxide fuel cells. Since the average grain sizes of these films are on the nanocrystalline scale (< 150 nm), it is of fundamental interest whether the electrical conductivity might differ from microcrystalline ceria-based ceramics. In this study, CeO₂ and Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9−x thin films have been fabrication by spray pyrolysis and pulsed laser deposition, and the influence of the ambient average grain size on the total DC conductivity is investigated. Dense and crack-free CeO₂ and Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9−x thin films were produced that withstand annealing up to temperatures of 1100 °C. The dopant concentration and annealing temperature affect highly the grain growth kinetics of ceria-based thin films. Large concentrations of dopant exert Zener drag on grain growth and result in retarded grain growth. An increased total DC conductivity and decreased activation energy was observed when the average grain size of a CeO₂ or Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9−x thin film was decreased.     

A variable electron beam and its irradiation effect on optical and electrical properties of CdS thin films

A low energy electron accelerator has been constructed and tested. The electron beam can operate in low energy mode (100 eV to 10 keV) having a beam diameter of 8–10 mm. Thin films of CdS having thickness of 100 nm deposited on ITO-coated glass substrate by thermal evaporation method have been irradiated by electron beam in the above instrument. The I–V characteristic is found to be nonlinear before electron irradiation and linear after electron irradiation. The TEP measurement confirms the n-type nature of the material. The TEP and I–V measurements also confirm the modification of ITO/CdS interface with electron irradiation.      

Influence of hydrogenation on electrical conductivity of vanadium dioxide thin films

The influence of hydrogenation on electrical conductivity of vanadium dioxide thin films has been investigated. It has been shown using measurements of the electrical conductivity that the hydrogenation of vanadium dioxide thin films leads to a decrease in the temperature of the phase transition from the tetragonal phase (with “metallic” conductivity) to the semiconducting monoclinic phase. It has been found that, upon doping of vanadium dioxide with hydrogen, the electrical conductivity of the monoclinic phase can increase by several orders of magnitude. Nonetheless, the temperature dependence of the electrical conductivity of hydrogenated films exhibits a typical semiconducting behavior in the temperature range where the monoclinic phase is stable.     

Lattice defects and its influence on hyperfine interactions on EuS evaporated thin films

In a study of the Mössbauer effect on¹⁵¹Eu in bulk EuS and evaporated thin films the influence of lattice defects on the hyperfine interactions has been investigated by variation of the substrate temperature during evaporation. The changes in the hyperfine and the lattice parameters with lattice defects are similar to the changes in those parameters observed in substances exhibiting an increasing portion of covalency.     

Preparation of p-type CdS thin films and in situ dark conductivity in vacuum deposited CdS:Cu films

CdS:Cu thin films were prepared using a vacuum co-evaporation technique. The Hall measurements indicate that the conductivity characteristic of CdS thin films transformed from highly compensated in as-grown or weakly annealed materials to p-type conductive in strongly annealed materials. X-ray diffraction spectra show that as-deposited thin films were the hexagonal phase of CdS except the presence of copper for high Cu doping and the diffraction peaks of Cu disappeared after annealing. From the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy we found the ionization of Cu atoms and the formation of an acceptor level. In situ dark conductivity in vacuum as-deposited CdS:Cu was performed in the temperature range between 27 and 250 °C. An abnormal temperature dependence of conductivity was observed in medium and heavily Cu-doped films. The formation of a p-type material at a certain temperature was also studied by the hot probe measurements, which indicates a complex compensation process in the Cu-doped CdS films.     

Studying the structure and electrical conductivity of thin granulated bimetallic films

The surface resistance of bimetallic granular films prepared by means of laser-induced deposition is studied. The possibility of modeling their conductivity is demonstrated, depending on their morphological properties.     

Influence of surface roughness on the electrical conductivity of semiconducting thin films

The Green function solution of the Boltzmann transport equation has been applied in case of no magnetic field by ignoring any volume impurities. Gaussian, exponential and power law models for the surface roughness correlation function have been studied and the results have been compared with the ones obtained by other methods. It has been found that the electrical conductivity σ$\sigma$ increases with increasing correlation length l$l$ for the first two models, while for the third model σ$\sigma$ value is of the same order as the first two models. Therefore we show that the shape of the surface roughness can strongly influence the electrical properties.     

Synthesis,electrical properties and transport mechanisms of thermally vacuum evaporated CdTe nanocrystalline thin films

A stoichiometry CdTe nano-structured powder was synthesized by chemical process. Thin films of different thicknesses (40, 60, and 100 nm) of CdTe were prepared by thermal evaporation method onto silicon substrates. Current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics of CdTe nanocrystalline thin films deposited on p-Si as heterojunction have been investigated. At low voltages, current in the forward direction was found to obey the diode equation and the conduction was controlled by thermionic emission mechanism. Also, various electrical parameters were determined from the I–V and C–V analysis. The thickness dependence of the obtained capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics was also considered.     

Effect of chemisorption on superconductivity of thin metal films

The mechanism of effective attraction of electrons in a thin metal film due to interaction with oscillations of adsorbed atoms is considered. At a sufficiently narrow resonance electron level close to the Fermi level this interaction has a resonance character and, therefore, makes a great contribution to the effective attraction constant. The temperature of the superconducting transition T_c with due regard to this mechanism has been calculated and shown to lead to a considerable increase of T_c.     

The influence of the structure of thin antimony films on their electrical conductivity

The eletrical conductivity of antimony films of different thicknesses was studied at different temperatures. For small thicknessd, whereL is the electron mean-free path, the film resistances varies asd ^?n , wheren=2. However, ford?L the value ofn becomes smaller than 2 which is in agreement with the theory.     

Size effect on the electrical conductivity and longitudinal gauge factor of thin metal films

The electrical and piezoresistive properties of vacuum deposited films of copper, tungsten, platinum and gold were investigated in the thickness range from 100 to 1000 . Both the conductivity and the longitudinal strain coefficient of resistance exhibit a size dependence, that was interpreted by applying the Sondheimer theory of charge transport in thin films on the assumption that the reflection of electrons by the film surfaces is partially specular. The proportion of electrons elastically scattered has been deduced from considerations based on the anomalous skin effect. The calculations are in reasonable agreement with the observations; the discrepancies can be attributed to the chemical contamination of the samples and to departures of the surface structure from the idealized flat configuration assumed in the theoretical treatment.