Co-doped In2O3 thin films: Room temperature ferromagnets

Laser-ablated Co-doped In₂O₃ thin films were fabricated under various growth conditions on R-cut Al₂O₃ and MgO substrates. All Co:In₂O₃ films are well-crystallized, single phase, and room temperature ferromagnetic. Co atoms were well substituted for In atoms, and their distribution is greatly uniform over the whole thickness of the films. Films grown at 550 °C showed the largest magnetic moment of about 0.5 μ_B/Co, while films grown at higher temperatures have magnetic moments of one order smaller. The observed ferromagnetism above room temperature in Co:In₂O₃ thin films has confirmed that doping few percent of magnetic elements such as Co into In₂O₃ could result in a promising magnetic material.     

Chemical,optical, and electrical characterization of Ga2O3 thin films grown by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition

Thin Ga₂O₃ films were grown on Si (100) using trimethylgallium (TMG) and oxygen as the precursors through plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition. The depositions were made over a temperature range of 80–250?°C with a growth per cycle of around 0.07 nm/cycle. Surface self-saturating growth was obtained with TMG pulse time ≥20?ms?at a temperature of 150?°C. The root mean square surface roughness of the obtained Ga₂O₃ films increased from 0.1?nm to 0.3?nm with increasing the growth temperature. Moreover, the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis indicated that the obtained film was Ga-rich with the chemical oxidation states Ga³⁺ and Ga¹⁺, and no carbon contamination was detected in the films after Ar⁺ sputtering. The electron density of films measured by x-ray reflectivity varied with the growth temperature, increasing from 4.72 to 5.80?g/cm³. The transmittance of Ga₂O₃ film deposited on a quartz substrate was obtained through ultraviolet visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. An obvious absorption in the deep UV region was demonstrated with a wide band gap of 4.6–4.8?eV. The spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis indicated that the average refractive index of the Ga₂O₃ film was 1.91?at 632.8?nm and increased with the growth temperature due to the dense structure of the films. Finally, the I-V and C-V characteristics proved that the Ga₂O₃ films prepared in this work had a low leakage current of 7.2?×?10^?11 A/cm² at 1.0?MV/cm and a high permittivity of 11.9, suitable to be gate dielectric.     

Determination and analysis of dispersive optical constants of CuIn3S5 thin films

CuIn₃S₅ thin films were prepared from powder by thermal evaporation under vacuum (10⁻⁶ mbar) onto glass substrates. The glass substrates were heated from 30 to 200 °C. The films were characterized for their optical properties using optical measurement techniques (transmittance and reflectance). We have determined the energy and nature of the optical transitions of films. The optical constants of the deposited films were determined in the spectral range 300-1800 nm from the analysis of transmission and reflection data. The Swanepoel envelope method was employed on the interference fringes of transmittance patterns for the determination of variation of refractive index with wavelength. Wemple-Di Domenico single oscillator model was applied to determine the optical constants such as oscillator energy E₀ and dispersion energy E_d of the films deposited at different substrate temperatures. The electric free carrier susceptibility and the ratio of the carrier concentration to the effective mass were estimated according to the model of Spitzer and Fan.     

Studies on the influence of lithium incorporation in the photoluminescence of Y2O3:Eu thin films

Nanostructured europium-doped yttrium oxide thin films with lithium as a co-dopant were prepared using pulsed laser ablation technique. X-ray diffraction studies of the films indicated amorphous nature of the as deposited films and a transformation to crystalline phase with increase of annealing temperature. In this transformation, lithium co-doped films showed early crystallization. Lithium substitution resulted not only in enhancement of photoluminescence at 612 nm, resulting from ⁵D₀-⁷F₂ transition within europium, but also found to reduce the required processing temperature for intense photoemission. The deviation observed in the value of lattice constant of films annealed at different temperatures is found to be sensitive to annealing temperature. In the light of this, the dependence of photoluminescence intensity on the magnitude of lattice imperfection is also discussed. The morphology and transmittance of the films are also found to be sensitive to annealing process and lithium doping.     

Growth of the Bi2O3 thin films under atmospheric pressure by means of halide CVD

Films of Bi₂O₃ were grown on glass substrate under atmospheric pressure by means of halide chemical vapour deposition (AP-HCVD) using BiI₃ and O₂ as the starting materials. In the XRD diffractogram of the film a strong diffraction peak appears at 27.91° assigned to the (111) diffraction of the δ-Bi₂O₃ with cubic structure. X-ray pole figure suggested that the 〈111〉 direction of the film is perpendicular to the substrate surface, while the 〈110〉 axis directs towards all directions parallel to the substrate surface. It is for the first that δ-Bi₂O₃ film was prepared on glass substrate.     

Magnetic anisotropic properties in Fe3O4 and CoFe2O4 ferrite epitaxy thin films

Epitaxial thin films of Fe₃O₄ and CoFe₂O₄ on MgO (0 0 1) substrates were grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low temperature growth process. Magnetization and hysteresis loop of both films were measured to investigate magnetic anisotropic properties at various temperatures. Anomalous magnetic properties are found to be correlated with crystalline, shape, and stress anisotropies. The Fe₃O₄ film below Verwey structural transition has a change in crystal structure, thus causing many anomalous magnetic properties. Crystalline anisotropy and anomalous magnetic properties are affected substantially by Co ions. The saturation magnetization of Co–ferrite film becomes much lower than that of Fe₃O₄ film, being very different from the bulks. It indicates that the low temperature growth process could not provide enough energy to have the lowest energy state.     

Electrical and optical properties of thermally-evaporated thin films from A2[TiO(C2O4)2] (A = K, PPh4) and 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone

In this work, the synthesis of molecular materials formed from A₂[TiO(C₂O₄)₂] (A = K, PPh4) and 1,8 dihydroxyanthraquinone is reported. The synthesized materials were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), infrared (IR) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy. IR spectroscopy showed that the molecular-material thin-films, deposited by vacuum thermal evaporation, exhibit the same intra-molecular vibration modes as the starting powders, which suggests that the thermal evaporation process does not alter the initial chemical structures. Electrical transport properties were studied by dc conductivity measurements. The electrical activation energies of the complexes, which were in the range of 0.003-1.16 eV, were calculated from Arrhenius plots. Optical absorption studies in the wavelength range of 190-1090 nm at room temperature showed that the optical band gaps of the thin films were around 1.9-2.3 eV for direct transitions Eg_d. The cubic NLO effects were substantially enhanced for materials synthesized from K₂[TiO(C₂O₄)₂], where χ⁽³⁾ (−3ω; ω, ω, ω) values in the promising range of 10⁻¹² esu have been evaluated.     

Sol-gel derived 6SrO·6BaO·7Al2O3 thin films using metal alkoxides

A novel 6SrO·6BaO·7Al₂O₃ (S6B6A7) thin film has been deposited onto soda lime float glass via sol-gel dip coating technique. The optical and electrical properties of S6B6A7 films annealed in air and H₂ atmosphere have been investigated. The structural and compositional properties of the S6B6A7 thin films have been investigated using Fourier transferred infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The S6B6A7 films prepared using 5 (wt.%) sol and annealed at 450 °C in air and H₂ atmosphere exhibit an average transmittance of over ∼91% in wide visible range. The electrical properties of the S6B6A7 films affect film thickness as revealed by sheet resistance measurements. The sheet resistance of the 150 nm S6B6A7 films was 67.85 and 6.06 kilo ohms per square for air and H₂ annealed, respectively.     

Morphological and optical properties of sol-gel derived 6SrO·6BaO·7Al2O3 thin films

A novel 6SrO·6BaO·7Al₂O₃ (S6B6A7) thin film deposited onto soda lime float glass via sol-gel dip coating technique is reported. The morphological and compositional properties of the S6B6A7 thin films have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealing that the films were composed of S6B6A7 nanoparticles. The optical properties of the S6B6A7 films are affected by sol concentration, film thickness and annealing temperature as revealed by UV-vis transmittance. The transparency of S6B6A7 films improved on increasing annealing temperature up to 450 °C in air. The S6B6A7 films prepared using 2, 5, and 8 (wt.%) sols and annealed at 450 °C exhibit an average transmittance of over ∼91% in wide visible range.     

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 of Cu2ZnSnS4 thin films by hybrid sputtering

In order to fabricate Cu₂ZnSnS₄ thin films, hybrid sputtering system with two sputter sources and two effusion cells is used. The Cu₂ZnSnS₄ films are fabricated by the sequential deposition of metal elements and annealing in S flux, varying the substrate temperature. The Cu₂ZnSnS₄ films with stoichiometric composition are obtained at the substrate temperature up to 400 °C, whereas the film composition becomes quite Zn-pool at the substrate temperature above 450 °C. The Cu₂ZnSnS₄ film shows p-type conductivity, and the optical absorption coefficient and the band gap of the Cu₂ZnSnS₄ film prepared in this experiment are suitable for fabricating a thin film solar cell.     

Preparation of CuInS2 thin films by metal-organic decomposition

Metal-organic decomposition (MOD) technique has been developed as a low cost thin film CuInS₂ preparation method for solar cell application. XRD and Raman spectra measurement revealed that deposited films contain CuInS₂. Stoichiometric films with a bandgap of 1.53 eV and an FWHM of 0.45° were obtained from a solution with Cu/In=1.5.     

Annealing effects on the properties of Ga2O3 thin films grown on sapphire by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition

We have prepared the gallium oxide (Ga₂O₃) thin films on sapphire substrates by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. We have compared the two films with and without the thermal annealing by using the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Postdeposition annealing of amorphous Ga₂O₃ films was found to increase the degree of crystallization and the surface roughness. The PL emission intensities of bands in the blue–green and the ultraviolet regions increased by the thermal annealing.     

Synthesis and characterisations of Au-nanoparticle-doped TiO2 and CdO thin films

In the present study, pure and gold nanoparticle (Au NP)-doped titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and cadmium oxide (CdO) thin film were prepared by the sol–gel method, and the effect of Au NP doping on the optical, structural and morphological properties of these thin films was investigated. The prepared thin films were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultraviolet–visible–near infrared (UV–Vis–NIR) spectra. While the optical band increases from 3.62 to 3.73 for TiO₂ thin films, it decreases from 2.20 to 1.55 for CdO thin films with increasing Au doping concentration. Analysis of XRD indicates that the intensities of peaks of the crystalline phase have increased with the increasing Au NP concentrations in all thin films. SEM images demonstrate that the surface morphologies of the samples were affected by the incorporation of Au NPs. Consequently, the most significant results of the present study are that the Au NPs can be used to modify the optical, structural and morphological properties of TiO₂ and CdO thin films.     

Synthesis and characterization of sprayed Zn-doped polycrystalline CuInS2 thin films

Copper indium disulphide (CuInS₂) is an efficient absorber material for photovoltaic applications. In this work Zn (0.02 and 0.03 M) doped CuInS₂ thin films are (Cu/In = 1.25) deposited onto glass substrates in the temperature range 300–400 °C. XRD patterns depict, Zn-doping facilitates the growth of CuInS₂ thin films along (1 1 2) preferred plane and other characteristic planes. Optical studies show, 90% of light transmission occurs in the IR regions; hence Zn-doped CuInS₂ can be used as an IR transmitter. The absorption coefficient in the UV–vis region is found to be in the order of 10⁴–10⁵ cm⁻¹. Optical band gap energies increase with increase of temperatures (0.02 M – (1.93–2.05 eV) and 0.03 M – (1.94–2.04 eV)). Well defined, broad Blue and Green band emissions are exhibited. Resistivity study reveals the deposited films exhibit semiconducting nature. Zn species can be used as a donor and acceptor impurity in CuInS₂ films to fabricate efficient solar cells and photovoltaic devices.     

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.     

Strain effects in epitaxially grown La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films

We report here on an X-ray absorption study of La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ films epitaxially grown on SrTiO₃ substrate. The local organization around Mn in oriented films with 600 Å in thickness was investigated by polarized Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure. The angle between electric field vector and film surface was set equal to 5° and 70° to investigate almost independently the contribution of the manganese neighbors situated in and out of the film plane. The first neighboring shell oxygen is found to be the same in both geometries, but small changes in the next neighboring contribution are observed. These changes are associated with variation in the Mn–Mn bond length. A small in-plane elongation (3%) is observed in the constrained films with respect to the unconstrained case.     

Cu掺杂Ga2O3薄膜的光学性能

采用射频磁控溅射和N₂气氛退火处理制备了多晶Ga₂O₃薄膜和Cu掺杂Ga₂O₃薄膜.用X射线衍射仪、紫外-可见分光光度计、荧光光谱仪对Ga₂O₃薄膜和Cu掺杂Ga₂O₃薄膜的结构和光学性能进行了表征.结果表明,Cu掺杂后Ga₂O₃薄膜的结晶质量变差,透过率明显降低,吸收率增加,光学带隙减小.本征Ga₂O₃薄膜在紫外、蓝光和绿光出现了发光带,Cu掺杂后紫外和蓝光发射增强,且在475 nm 处出现了一个新的发光峰.     

Crystallization and electrical properties of V2O5 thin films prepared by RF sputtering

V₂O₅ thin films were prepared under various conditions by using reactive RF sputtering technique. The microstructure and electrical properties of the films are have been investigated. X-ray diffraction data revealed the films deposited at low O₂/Ar ratio are amorphous. The orthorhombic structure of film improved after post annealing at 873 K. The microstructure parameters (crystallite/domain size and macrostrain) have been evaluated by using a single order Voigt profile method. Using the two-point probe technique, the dark conductivity as a function of the condition parameters such as film thickness, oxygen content and temperature are discussed. It was also found that, the behaviour of ρd versus d was found to fit properly with the Fuchs-Sondheimer relation with the parameters: ρ_o = 2.14 × 10⁷ Ω cm and ?_o = 112 ± 2 nm. At high temperature, the electrical conductivity is dominated by grain boundaries, the values of activation energy and potential barrier height were 0.90 ± 0.02 eV and 0.92 ± 0.02 V, respectively.     

Enhanced luminescence from spontaneously ordered Gd2O3:Eu based nanostructures

Nanostructured Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ and Li⁺ doped Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ thin films were prepared by pulsed laser ablation technique. The effects of annealing and Li⁺ doping on the structural, morphological, optical and luminescent properties are discussed. X-ray diffraction and Micro-Raman investigations indicate a phase transformation from amorphous to nanocrystalline phase and an early crystallization was observed in Li⁺ doped Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ thin films on annealing. AFM images of Li⁺ doped Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ films annealed at different temperatures especially at 973 K show a spontaneous ordering of the nanocrystals distributed uniformly all over the surface, with a hillocks (or tips) like self-assembly of nanoparticles driven by thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. Enhanced photoemission from locations corresponding to the tips suggest their use in high resolution display devices. An investigation on the photoluminescence of Gd_2−xEu_xO₃ (x=0.10) and Gd_2−x−yEu_xLi_yO₃ (x=0.10, y=0.08) thin films annealed at 973 K reveals that the enhancement in luminescence intensity of about 3.04 times on Li⁺ doping is solely due to the increase in oxygen vacancies and the flux effect of Li⁺ ions. The observed decrease in the values of asymmetric ratio from the luminescence spectra of Li⁺ doped Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ films at high temperature region is discussed in terms of increased EuO bond length as a result of Li⁺ doping.