Effects of annealing on the properties and structure of electrodeposited semiconducting Cu–O thin films

Abstract

AbstractThe structures and the electronic states in electrodeposited semiconductor Cu–O thin films have been investigated for each annealing temperature (TA) by X‐ray diffraction (XD) and X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) near the Cu K edge using synchrotron radiation. The thin films prepared as grown and annealed at TA ≤ 175 °C, 200 °C ≤ TA ≤ 300 °C, TA = 400 °C are characterized mainly by the pure Cu2O‐type structure, the pseudo‐Cu2O‐type having a superlattice structure, and two phases of Cu2O‐type and CuO‐type structures, respectively, while the film annealed at TA = 500 °C is single‐phase CuO‐type. The XAS spectra suggest that there is a structural phase transition occurring at about 400 °C, which induces a modulation of the local structure around Cu ions observed in the extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and the occupational electronic band states of Cu‐4p localized just above the Fermi level, taken from X‐ray absorption near edge structure (XANES). The open‐circuit voltage suggests that the photosensitivity of the Cu–O thin films strongly depends on the annealing treatment and shows a crossover from an n‐type to a p‐type semiconductor. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)