Tailoring structure and nanoscale surface topography in Mg–N doped CuCrO[formula omitted] thin films via post deposition annealing for optothermoelectric application

Abstract

In this study, we explored how varying the annealing temperature and the duration of post-annealing affect the structural, optical, and thermoelectric characteristics of thin films doped with Mg–N in CuCrO2. As the annealing time increased, we observed that all the annealed films exhibited enhanced conductivity at room temperature. Additionally, both the power factor and Seebeck coefficient also exhibited increases. The quantitative assessment of the nanometric dimensional surface roughness and the surface nano-texture of the deposited film was done by atomic force microscopy analysis. The spiky peaks and positive roughness skewness (Rsk) value made the two-hour annealed film suitable for energy harvesting. Wide band gap and high transmission of more than 60% were found by UV–Vis spectroscopic analysis and Fermi energy of 7 meV is calculated and determined the possibility of the film from being used in ohmic contact with delafossite to prevent Schottky barriers and track the work function of the material.