Grown Silicon Iron Oxide by DC- RF Magnetron Co-Sputtering Technique

Abstract

In this study, the structure of silicon iron oxide (Si:Fe2O3) was grown using co-sputtering. The Si:Fe2O3 film was grown on glass substrates at a pressure of 8.5 mTorr and a temperature of 450°C for 35 minutes. Optical measurements have revealed that the band gap of the structure ranges from 2.54 to 2.73 eV. The roughness values of the films in AFM images are Ra 3.08 nm and Sa 2.7 nm for Si:Fe2O3, and Ra 1.88 nm and Sa 2.09 nm for Fe2O3, respectively. As can be seen from the XPS figures, the change in binding energy is attributed to electron exchange among silicon, iron, and oxygen. In the iron-silicon oxide structure, the energy increases slightly as a result of the chemical environment. XRD measurements indicate that the size of crystal grains decreases gradually with an increase in silicon content. The Si4+ ion has a strong tendency to distribute itself within the tetrahedral region of spinel-like structures. The behavior of the structure is influenced by the stoichiometry of oxygen. The consistent results from both XRD and SEM images indicate that the crystal grain sizes gradually decrease as the silicon content increases.