Nonlinear optical characteristics of chemical bath-deposited pure and Cu-doped SnO2 thin films: A comparative evaluation

Abstract

A chemical bath deposition method is used to grow SnO2 thin films doped with copper (0, 1, 2, and 3 wt) on glass substrates that exhibit linear and nonlinear optical properties. XRD analysis of the films verified their polycrystalline phases oriented strongly of the c-axis along the preferred (110) direction depending on the doping concentration and substrate temperature. SEM images of pure SnO2 film showed the formation of granular cubic structures. Conversely, the Cu-doped films displayed the existence of spherical granules with porosity. The transmittance spectra of the films for UV–visible light indicated large values for pure films, and that the transmittance decreased with greater doping levels. As a result of copper ions in the nanostructures, it was found that the transmittance decreased as doping levels increased. Pure SnO2 has an optical band gap of 3.63 eV; it decreases with increasing Cu doping concentrations. Wemple-Di Domenico (WDD) model for single oscillator energy was used to estimate each oscillator's optical refractive index, while the static refractive index and dispersion energy were also determined. In addition, the film's WDD parameters and nonlinear refractive index were in the range of 320–1200 nm, and the wavelength was determined. During the doping concentration increase, the nonlinear refractive index of the films increased primarily because the linear refractive index of the films at 520 nm increased. This nonlinearity of the film may arise because of the thermal effect, saturated atomic absorption, and electrostriction. For pure SnO2, third-order nonlinear susceptibility (2.77 × 10-12m2/V2) is caused by thermal effects, and for doped samples, it is caused by photorefractive effects.