Abstract

Al-doped CdO thin films were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at different deposition time and substrate temperature. X-ray diffraction showed that the changes in the intensities of the (200), (220), and (311) planes followed a similar trend with increase in deposition time. The surface of the thin film was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Grain sizes of Al-doped CdO thin films increased significantly with increasing deposition time. The film thicknesses were 0.09, 0.12, 0.20, and 0.225 μm for the deposition times of 1, 2, 3, and 4 h, respectively. The photoluminescence spectra of the Al-doped CdO thin films were measured at room temperature. The photoluminescence wavelength changed in the sequence, green, blue, green, and blue, with increasing deposition time, which indicates that blue light emitting films can be fabricated by adjusting the processing parameters.

Highlights

  • Thin films of transparent conducting oxides (TCO) are critical components of solar cells, gas sensors, and smart windows [1–4]

  • Several researchers have reported the effect of deposition parameters on the properties of Sn, Ti, Al, and In-doped CdO films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, and spray pyrolysis [5–9]

  • Al is a popular dopant in ZnO thin films; there have been very few reports on Al-doped CdO thin films [10–12] and, so far, there are no detailed studies reporting the properties of Al-doped CdO thin films on Si substrates that elucidate the relationship between the structure of the films as determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the photoluminescence (PL) in this material

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Summary

Introduction

Thin films of transparent conducting oxides (TCO) are critical components of solar cells, gas sensors, and smart windows [1–4]. In radio frequency magnetron sputtering processes, the deposition parameters play a key role in determining the properties of thin films (CdO in the present case) fabricated by using this technique. Several researchers have reported the effect of deposition parameters on the properties of Sn-, Ti-, Al-, and In-doped CdO films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, pulsed laser deposition, and spray pyrolysis [5–9]. Al is a popular dopant in ZnO thin films; there have been very few reports on Al-doped CdO thin films [10–12] and, so far, there are no detailed studies reporting the properties of Al-doped CdO thin films on Si substrates that elucidate the relationship between the structure of the films as determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the photoluminescence (PL) in this material. We have measured the PL and XRD of Al-doped CdO thin films fabricated using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique at different substrate deposition temperatures and deposition times. We have investigated the origin of the peaks in the PL spectra and their relation to the crystalline structure of the film surface

Experimental Details
Results and Discussion
Conclusions

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