Effect of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of CeO2:Ni thin films

Abstract

High quality Ni-doped CeO2 (CeO2:Ni) thin films were deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by using radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The effect of annealing temperature on structural and optical properties of the CeO2:Ni films was investigated. The structural, optical and vibrational properties of the films were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence spectrometer (PL) and Raman spectrometer. It was found that the as-deposited film has a fluorite cubic structure. By increasing annealing temperature from 100°C to 300°C, the crystalline quality of the thin films could be improved. The UV and visible band emissions were observed in the photoluminescence spectra, due to exciton, defect related emissions respectively. The micro-Raman results show the characteristic peak of CeO2 F2g at 465 cm−1 and 2L0 at 1142 cm−1. Defect peaks like D and 0 bands were observed at 641 cm−1 and 548 cm−1 respectively. It is found from the spectra that the peak intensity of the films increased with increase of annealing temperature.