Surface roughness characterization of Al-doped zinc oxide thin films using rapid optical measurement

Transparent conductive oxide thin films have been widely investigated in photoelectric devices such as flat panel display (FPD) and solar cells. Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films have been widely employed in FPD. Measuring the surface roughness of AZO thin films is important before the manufacturing of photoelectric device using AZO thin films because surface roughness of AZO thin films will significantly affect the performance of photoelectric device. Traditional methods to measure surface roughness of AZO thin films are scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The disadvantages of these approaches include long lead time and slow measurement speed. To solve this problem, an optical inspection system for rapid measurement of the surface roughness of AZO thin films is developed in this study. It is found that the incident angle of 60° is a good candidate to measure the surface roughness of AZO thin films. Based on the trend equation y=−3.6483x+2.1409, the surface roughness of AZO thin films (y) can be directly deduced from the peak power density (x) using the optical inspection system developed. The maximum measurement-error rate of the optical inspection system developed is less than 8.7%.The saving in inspection time of the surface roughness of AZO thin films is up to 83%.     

Determination of optical properties of SnO2 films

Summary The optical properties of conductive transparent thin films of undoped SnO₂, prepared by using magnetron supttering, were studied by measuring the transmittance and the reflectance between λ=0.25 μm and λ=3μm. The extracted optical constants are interpreted to give values of a direct band gap of the order of 4 eV and of an indirect band gap of the order of 3 eV. Typical SnO₂ films transmit ≈85% of visible light, have sheet resistanceR _∂ (100÷800) Ω_∂ and resistivities of (2.4·10⁻³÷1.8·10⁻²) Ω cm.

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Riassunto Mediante la misura dei valori di transmittanza e di riflettanza per lunghezze d'onda comprese fra 0.25 μm e 3 μm, sono state studiate le proprietà ottiche di film sottili (trasparenti e conduttivi) di SnO₂ non drogato, preparati mediante sputtering. Dai valori così ottenuti sono stati ricavati valori del gap diretto dell'ordine di 4 eV e di quello indiretto dell'ordine di 3 eV. Un film di SnO₂ presenta tipicamente valori della transmittanza intorno all'85%, per luce visibile,R _∂ intorno ai (100÷800) Ω_∂ e resistività fra 2.4·10⁻³ e 1.8·10⁻² Ω cm.

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Резюме Пзмеряя величины пропускания и отражения в области длин волн между λ=0.25 мкм и λ=3 мкм, исследуются оптические свойства проводящих прозрачных тонких пленок нелегированного SnO₂, приготовленных с помощью напыления. Из полученных оптических постоянных извлекаются значения прямой щели, порядка 4 эВ, и непрямой щели, порядка 3 эВ. Типичные пленки SnO₂ пропускают ∼85% видимого света, имеют сопротивлениеR _∂ (100÷800) Ω_∂ и удельные сопротивления в области (2.4·10⁻³÷1.8·10⁻²) Ом·см.

     

Oxidation-induced changes in the electro-optical properties of thin copper films

Summary The room temperature oxidation of vapour deposited copper films has been investigated as a function of film thickness and time by the sheet resistance and optical transmittance measurements. An increase of both sheet resistance and transmittance with a tendency to saturation has been observed. Time variation of the sheet resistance shows that the kinetics of oxidation could be described by a model whereby an initial logarithmic oxide growth changes to an inverse logarithmic one as time progresses; the thicker the film, the longer the change-over time. Absorption coefficients of oxidized films show that the resulting oxide is most probably Cu₂O. Evaluation of the oxidized films for possible use as transparent electrode material shows the existence of an optimum thickness value.

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Riassunto Si è studiata l’ossidazione a temperatura ambiente di pellicole di rame depositate per vaporizzazione in funzione dello spessore della pellicola e del tempo mediante la resistenza del foglio e misurazioni di trasmittenza ottica. Si è osservato un aumento sia della resistenza del foglio, sia della trasmittenza con una tendenza alla saturazione. La variazione temporale della resistenza del foglio mostra che la cinetica di ossidazione potrebbe essere descritta da un modello con cui un’iniziale crescita logaritmica dell’ossido cambia in una logaritmica inversa al crescere del tempo; più spessa è la pellicola più lungo è il tempo del cambiamento. I coefficienti di assorbimento delle pellicole ossidate mostrano che l’ossido risultante è molto probabilmente il Cu₂O. La valutazione delle pellicole ossidate per un possibile uso come materiale di elettrodo trasparente mostra l’esistenza di un valore ottimo dello spessore.

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Резюме Исследуется окисление при комнатной температуре пленок меди в зависимости от толщины пленки и времени, используя измерения сопротивления слоя и оптической прозрачности. Наблюдается увеличение сопротивления слоя и прозрачности с тенденцией к насыщению. Временное изменение сопротивления слоя показывает, что кинетика окисления может быть описана с помощью модели, согласно которой начальный логарифмический рост окисла изменяется на обратно логарифмический, когда время увеличивается; для более толстой пленки изменение происходит при больщих временах. Коэффициенты поглощения окисленных пленок показывают, что результирующий окисел представляет Cu₂O. Оценка возможности использования окисленных пленок в качестве прозрачного материала электродов указывает на существование оптимальной толщины пленки.

     

Effect of cationic precursor pH on optical and transport properties of SILAR deposited nano crystalline PbS thin films

The lead sulfide (PbS) thin films were deposited on glass substrate using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method at different pH of the cationic precursor, keeping the pH of the anionic precursor invariant. In this work, we establish that the pH of the cationic precursor and in turn the size of the crystallites affects the optical and electrical properties of PbS thin films. The characterization of the film was carried out using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, optical and electrical measurement techniques. The presence of nanocrystallites was revealed by optical absorption and structural measurements. The PbS thin films obtained under optimal deposition conditions were found to be polycrystalline with face centered cubic structure. The lattice parameter, grain size, micro strain, average internal stress and dislocation density in the film were calculated and correlated with pH of the solution. The values of average crystallite size were found to be in the range 16-23 nm. Optical studies revealed the existence of direct and indirect band gap values in the range 0.99-1.84 eV and 0.60-0.92 eV, respectively. The room temperature resistivity of the synthesized PbS films was in the range of 1.2 × 10⁷ to 3.5 × 10⁷ Ω cm.     

A new method to characterizing surface roughness of TiO2 thin films

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin films have been widely coated in the self-cleaning glass for facade application. The benefit of these glasses is its ability to actively decompose organic compounds with the help of ultraviolet light. Understanding the surface roughness of TiO₂ thin films is important before manufacturing of self-cleaning glasses using TiO₂ thin films because surface roughness of TiO₂ thin films has highly significant influence on the photocatalytic performance. Traditional approach for measuring surface roughness of TiO₂ thin films is atomic force microscopy. The disadvantage of this approach include long lead-time and slow measurement speed. To solve this problem, an optical inspection system for rapidly measuring the surface roughness of TiO₂ thin films is developed in this study. It is found that the incident angle of 60° is a good candidate for measuring surface roughness of TiO₂ thin films and y=90.391x+0.5123 is a trend equation for predicting the surface roughness of TiO₂ thin films. Roughness average (Ra) of TiO₂ thin films (y) can be directly determined from the peak power density (x) using the optical inspection system developed. The results were verified by white-light interferometer. The measurement error rate of the optical inspection system developed can be controlled by about 8.8%. The saving in inspection time of the surface roughness of TiO₂ thin films is up to 83%.     

The optical properties of thin erbium films

The effective dielectric constant, ε′₂, of very thin films of erbium on sodium chloride substrates was determined from measurements of normal incidence reflectance and transmittance in the visible spectrum. ε′₂ showed a maximum which moved to longer wavelengths as the film thickness increased. Electron microscopy revealed that the film islands grew flatter and more irregular with thickness. The shape factor of the islands, F, was calculated by a modified Maxwell-Garnett method and became smaller as the film thickness increased.     

Investigation of optical properties of annealed aluminum phthalocyanine derivatives thin films

Semiconducting molecular materials based on aluminum phthalocyanine chloride (AlPcCl) and bidentate amines have been successfully used to prepare thin films by using a thermal evaporation technique. The morphology of the deposited films was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Studies of the optical properties were carried out on films deposited onto quartz and (1 0 0) monocrystalline silicon wafers and films annealed after deposition. The absorption spectra recorded in the UV–vis region for the as-deposited and annealed samples showed two absorption bands, namely the Q- and B-bands. In addition, an energy doublet in the absorption spectra of the monoclinic form at 1.81 and 1.99 eV was observed. A band-model theory was employed in order to determine the optical parameters. The fundamental energy gap (direct transitions) was determined to be within the 2.47–2.59 and 2.24–2.44 eV ranges, respectively, for the as-deposited and annealed thin films.     

Effect of surface roughness on the determination of tissue optical properties

The scattering phase functions of the nylon film with different surface roughnesses were measured by the goniophotometric measurement technique, and the corresponding anisotropy factors of the nylon film with different surface roughnesses were determined subsequently. Consequently, the scattering coefficients of nylon with different surface roughnesses were determined. The fluence rates of intralipid with different interface roughnesses for a board beam irradiation were measured and the penetration depths were determined. The experimental results indicate that the surface roughness obviously affects the determination of the optical properties of nylon. This study suggested that the determination of tissue optical properties should take surface roughness into account.     

The dynamic angle-limited integrated scattering (DALIS) method for measuring scattering of light from optical surfaces with random roughness

A new and simple dynamic angle limited integrated scattering (DALIS) method is developed to examine optically smooth reflective surfaces with defined surface form. Our experimental results from two systems show advantages over conventional angle resolved scattering measurement (ARS) methods. By collecting scattered light in a given solid angle, our methods do not require a detection unit with an extremely large dynamic range. Unlike in the common ARS measurement method, here we use a simple linear translation stage to scan scattered light. The power spectrum density function and the autocorrelation function of the surface roughness can be recovered from the measured scattering pattern. This method can be applied to in-workshop inspection of optical polishing processes.     

Effect of K-doping on structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films

In this work, K-doped ZnO thin films were prepared by a sol–gel method on Si(111) and glass substrates. The effect of different K-doping concentrations on structural and optical properties of the ZnO thin films was studied. The results showed that the 1 at.% K-doped ZnO thin film had the best crystallization quality and the strongest ultraviolet emission ability. When the concentration of K was above 1 at.%, the crystallization quality and ultraviolet emission ability dropped. For the K-doped ZnO thin films, there was not only ultraviolet emission, but also a blue emission signal in their photoluminescent spectra. The blue emission might be connected with K impurity or/and the intrinsic defects (Zn interstitial and Zn vacancy) of the ZnO thin films.     

Influence of composition on electrical and optical properties of new chalcogenide thin films from Ge-Se-Tl system

Bulk Ge₂₀Se_80−xTl_x (x ranging from 0 to 15 at%) chalcogenide glasses were prepared by conventional melt quenching technique. Thin films of these compositions were prepared by thermal evaporation, on glass and Si wafer substrates at a base pressure of 10⁻⁶ Torr. X-ray diffraction studies were performed to investigate the structure of the thin films. The absence of any sharp peaks in the X-ray diffractogram confirms that the films are amorphous in nature. The optical constants (absorption coefficient, optical band gap, extinction coefficient and refractive index) of Ge₂₀Se_80−xTl_x thin films are determined by absorption and reflectance measurements in a wavelength range of 400-900 nm. In order to determine the optical gap, the absorption spectra of films with different Tl contents were analyzed. The absorption data revealed the existence of allowed indirect transitions. The optical band gap showed a sharp decrease from 2.06 to 1.79 eV as the Tl content increased from 0% to 15%. It has been found that the values of absorption coefficient and refractive index increase while the extinction coefficient decreases with increase in Tl content in the Ge-Se system. These results are interpreted in terms of the change in concentration of localized states due to the shift in Fermi level. DC electrical conductivity of Ge₂₀Se_80−xTl_x thin films was carried out in a temperature range 293-393 K. The electrical activation energy of these films was determined by investigating the temperature dependence of dc conductivity. A decrease in the electrical activation energy from 0.91 to 0.55 eV was observed as the Tl content was increased up to 15 at% in Ge₂₀Se_80−xTl_x system. On the basis of pre-exponential factor, it is suggested that the conduction is due to thermally assisted tunneling of the carriers in the localized states near the band edges.     

Experimental investigation of a modified Beckmann-Kirchhoff scattering theory for the in-process optical measurement of surface quality

An experimental investigation of a modified Beckmann-Kirchhoff scattering theory applied in an in-process optical measurement of surface quality is described. The proposed theory describes the scattered light intensity distribution from a surface with the additional layers, and can be employed to analyze the surface characteristics in in-process measurement. Based on light scattering principle and machine vision method, the surface roughness is extracted to testify the correction of the modified Beckmann-Kirchhoff scattering theory. The experimental apparatus consists of a collimated laser diode, a beam splitter, a screen, a measuring lens and a camera. Test specimens with different surface roughness are studied. The results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of in-process optical measurement of surface quality using the modified model.     

Structural, optical and electrochromic properties of nickel oxide thin films grown from electrodeposited nickel sulphide

Nickel oxide thin films were grown onto FTO-coated glass substrates by a two-step process: electrodeposition of nickel sulphide and their thermal oxidation at 425, 475 and 525 °C. The influence of thermal oxidation temperature on structural, optical, morphological and electrochromic properties was studied. The structural properties undoubtedly revealed NiO formation. The electrochromic properties were studied by means of cyclic voltammetry. The films exhibited anodic electrochromism, changing from a transparent state to a coloured state at +0.75 V versus SCE, i.e. by simultaneous ion and electron ejection. The transmittance in the coloured and bleached states was recorded to access electrochromic quality of the films. Colouration efficiency and electrochromic reversibility were found to be maximum (21 mC/cm² and 89%, respectively) for the films oxidized at 425 °C. The optical band gap energy of nickel oxide slightly varies with increase in annealing temperature.     

Effects of Ti-doped concentration on the microstructures and optical properties of ZnO thin films

The Ti-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ti) thin films have been deposited on glass substrates by radio frequency (RF) reactive magnetron sputtering technique with different Ti doping concentrations. The effect of Ti contents on the crystalline structure and optical properties of the as-deposited ZnO:Ti films was systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and fluorescence spectrophotometer. The XRD measurements revealed that all the films had hexagonal wurtzite type structure with a strong (100) preferential orientation and relatively weak (002), (101), and (110) peaks. It was found that the intensity of the (100) diffraction peaks was strongly dependent on the Ti doping concentration. And the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of (002) diffraction peaks constantly changed at various Ti contents, which decreased first and then increased, reaching a minimum of about 0.378° at 1.43 at.% Ti. The morphologies of ZnO:Ti films with 1.43 at.% Ti showed a denser texture and better smooth surface. All the films were found to be highly transparent in the visible wavelength region with an average transmittance over 90%. Compared with E_g = 3.219 eV for pure ZnO film, all the doping samples exhibited a blue-shift of E_g. It can be attributed to the incorporation of Ti atoms and raising the concentration of carriers. Five emission peaks located at 412, 448, 486, 520, and 550 nm were observed from the photoluminescence spectra measured at room temperature and the origin of these emissions was discussed.     

Optical and electrical properties of thermally oxidized bismuth thin films

Bismuth trioxide (Bi₂O₃) thin films were prepared by dry thermal oxidation of metallic bismuth films deposited by vacuum evaporation. The oxidation process of Bi films consists of a heating from the room temperature to an oxidation temperature (T_o = 673 K), with a temperature rate of 8 K/min; an annealing for 1 h at oxidation temperature and, finally, a cooling to room temperature. The optical transmission and reflection spectra of the films were studied in spectral domains ranged between 300 nm and 1700 nm, for the transmission coefficient, and between 380 nm and 1050 nm for the reflection coefficient, respectively. The thin-film surface structures of the metal/oxide/metal type were used for the study of the static current-voltage (I-U) characteristics. The temperature of the substrate during bismuth deposition strongly influences both the optical and the electrical properties of the oxidized films. For lower values of intensity of electric field (ξ < 5 × 10⁴V/cm), I-U characteristics are ohmic.     

Ge-Sb-Se硫系薄膜制备及光学特性研究

介绍了几种常见的硫系薄膜制备方法, 根据现有实验条件采用热蒸发法和磁控溅射法制备出Ge-Sb-Se三元体系硫系薄膜, 通过台阶仪测试薄膜的厚度和表面粗糙度, 计算出两种制备方法的成膜速率, 并通过X射线光电子能谱测试了两种制备方法所得薄膜与块体靶材组分的差别. 利用Z扫描技术和分光光度计测试了热蒸发法制备所得薄膜的三阶非线性性能和透过光谱, 计算出非线性折射率、非线性吸收系数和薄膜厚度等参数. 结果表明热蒸发法制备Ge-Sb-Se薄膜具有良好的物理结构和光学特性, 在集成光学器件方面很高的应用潜力.     

Effects of high hydrogen dilution ratio on optical properties of hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon thin films

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon thin films were prepared by plasma enhanced vapor deposition technique. In our experiment, hydrogen dilution ratio R_H was changed mainly, while the other parameters, such as the radio frequency power, the direct current bias value, the chamber pressure, the total gas flow and the substrate temperature were kept constant. The film's surface topography was gained by AFM. The chemical bond was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectra. The optical properties were characterized by transmission spectra. To consider absorption peak of stretching vibration mode of SiH₃ at 2140 cm⁻¹ and to reduce the calculation error, a hydrogen content calculation method was proposed. Effects of hydrogen dilution ratio on the deposition rate v and hydrogen content C_H were investigated. The bonding mode and the force constants k of chemical bond, the structural factor f in films were changed by high hydrogen dilution ratio, which gave rise to the shift of absorption peak of infrared stretching mode and the decrease of optical band gap E_g.     

Effects of the substrate and oxygen partial pressure on the microstructures and optical properties of Ti-doped ZnO thin films

Ti-doped ZnO (ZnO:Ti) thin films were deposited on the glass and Si substrates using radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. The effects of substrate on the microstructures and optical properties of ZnO:Ti thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a fluorescence spectrophotometer. The structural analyses of the films indicated that they were polycrystalline and had a hexagonal wurtzite structure on different substrates. When ZnO:Ti thin film was deposited on Si substrate, the film had a c-axis preferred orientation, while preferred orientation of ZnO:Ti thin film deposited on glass substrate changed towards (1 0 0). Finally, we discussed the influence of the oxygen partial pressures on the structural and optical properties of glass-substrate ZnO:Ti thin films. At a high ratio of O₂:Ar of 18:10 sccm, the intensity of (0 0 2) diffraction peak was stronger than that of (1 0 0) diffraction peak, which indicated that preferred orientation changed with the increase of O₂:Ar ratios. The average optical transmittance with over 93% in the visible range was obtained independent of the O₂:Ar ratio. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra measured at room temperature revealed four main emission peaks located at 428, 444, 476 and 527 nm. Intense blue-green luminescence was obtained from the sample deposited at a ratio of O₂:Ar of 14:10 sccm. The results showed that the oxygen partial pressures had an important influence for PL spectra and the origin of these emissions was discussed.     

Effect of precursors on structure, optical and electrical properties of chemically deposited nanocrystalline ZnO thin films

Nanocrystalline ZnO thin films were chemically deposited on glass substrates using two different precursors namely, zinc sulphate and zinc nitrate. XRD studies confirm that the films are polycrystalline zinc oxide having hexagonal wurtzite structure with crystallite size in the range 25-33 nm. The surface morphology of film prepared using zinc sulphate exhibits agglomeration of small grains throughout the surface with no visible holes or faulty zones, while the film prepared using zinc nitrate shows a porous structure consisting of grains with different sizes separated by empty spaces. The film prepared using zinc sulphate shows higher reflectance due to its larger refractive index which is related to the packing density of grains in the film. Further, the film prepared using zinc sulphate is found to have normal dispersion for the wavelength range 550-750 nm, whereas the film prepared using zinc nitrate has normal dispersion for the wavelength range 450-750 nm. The direct optical band gaps in the two films are estimated to be 3.01 eV and 3.00 eV, respectively. The change in film resistance with temperature has been explained on the basis of two competing processes, viz. thermal excitation of electrons and atmospheric oxygen adsorption, occurring simultaneously. The activation energies of the films in two different regions indicate the presence of two energy levels - one deep and one shallow near the bottom of the conduction band in the bandgap.