Doped Cadmium Oxide Thin Films Research Articles

Structural and optoelectronic properties of nickel doped CdO thin films deposited by spray pyrolytic technique

In this work, Cadmium oxide (CdO) and Nickle (Ni) doped cadmium oxide (CdO: Ni) thin films have been fabricated onto glass substrate by spray pyrolysis technique. The undoped and Ni-doped CdO thin films have been deposited at 400 °C heated glass substrate. The films' structure, morphology and optical properties were investigated & analyzed as a function of Ni doping level. As confirmed by different characterization, the preparade films have polycrystalline with cubic structure. Based on the results, the pure CdO films showed sharper and more intense diffraction patterns than Ni-doping films. Compared to the pure CdO films, the average grain size of the doped films decreases with increasing of doping level. Furthermore, the optical properties of Ni-doped CdO thin films showed lower absorption coefficient than pure films. However, the higher transparency of Ni-doped CdO films in the visible region consider a good window for the most optoelectronic devices applications. The energy band gap was tuned via Ni doping impurities and it increases as doping level increases.

Spray-Deposited Rare Earth Metal Ion (Sm3+, Ce3+, Pr3+, La3+)-Doped CdO Thin Films for Enhanced Formaldehyde Gas Sensing Characteristics.

This study shows the electrical conductivity-dependent gas sensing characteristics of spray-deposited rare earth (RE) metal ion (Sm3+, Ce3+, Pr3+, La3+)-doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films on soda-lime microscope glass substrates at 300 °C. We examined the deposited films’ structural, surface microstructural, DC electrical, and gas sensing features. The X-ray diffraction study indicates that all samples were polycrystalline, with the favored growth direction shifting from the (111) plane to the (200) plane. The highest root-mean-square values were obtained for the Pr-doped CdO thin film (5.86 nm). The surface microstructure of CdO thin films was significantly influenced by the RE metal ion dopant, with typical grain size values ranging from 64 nm to 134 nm depending on the dopant. The carrier concentration and resistivity of CdO films vary based on the RE metal ions used as dopants. Low resistivity (3.01 × 10–4 Ω.cm) was achieved for the CdO thin film doped with La. High gas sensitivity (71.42%) was achieved for CdO thin films doped with La. The donor dopant regulated the electrical conductivity and gas sensing capabilities of CdO thin films.

Structural and Electrical Studies of Boric Acid Doped Cadmium Oxide Thin Film by JNSP Technique for Optoelectronic Applications

The present work deals with preparation and characterization of boric acid (b) dopped cdo thin films by the jet nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique at optimized temperature 450°C. Boric acid doped cdo thin films were prepared by jet nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique with different wt% of boric acid (x=0, 0.5,2.5, 4). The xrd pattern of various weight percentage boric acid dopped cdo thin films show the polycrystalline nature with cubic structure. At room temperature, the electrical conductivity of the prepared films increases with 4Wt% of 2.32x10-3 S/cm. The plot of voltage versus current as a function of temperature (RT-30°C) indicates the ohmic behavior of the films. Moreover, significant optoelectronic applications are cadmium oxide dopped with boric acid thin films at room temperature electrical resistivity is in the order of 101Ω cm which is low enough to be a good supercapacitor electrode material.

Effect of Ga doping on microstructure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of spray deposited CdO thin films

Cadmium oxide (CdO) and gallium (Ga) doped CdO thin films were fabricated successfully onto glass substrate at 400 °C temperature by spray pyrolysis technique and the effect of Ga on microstructure, surface morphology, optical, electrical and Hall effect properties of CdO thin films have been revealed and discussed. X-ray diffraction results indicate that all films are polycrystalline and possess cubic crystal structure. The SEM images reveal that the surface morphology of CdO changes remarkably with increasing Ga doping concentration. EDX investigation confirms the presence of cadmium (Cd), oxygen (O) and gallium (Ga) elements in the deposited films. The optical transmittance of CdO increases continuously with Ga doping up to 3% and then decreases onwards within the same wavelength region. The optical band gap initially increases from 2.47 eV to 2.53 eV, and Urbach energy decreases from 0.55 eV to 0.50 eV when the doping of Ga varies from 0 to 3%. Thereafter, the extinction coefficient, refractive index and energy dissipation factor shows reverse relation above 3% doping of Ga. The electrical resistivity of CdO thin film has been found 5.79 × 10−4 (ohm-cm) and which reduces to 1.23 × 10−4 (ohm-cm) for 3% Ga doping. The temperature dependent electrical resistivity data of deposited films shows that the films possess poor metal-like behaviour. Results of Hall Effect measurement notifies that the carrier of the films is n-type, and Ga doping changes the Hall mobility & carrier concentration of CdO films significantly. The obtained figure of merit of all films is higher than 1.0% Ω−1 and the maximum FOM was found for 3% (8.28 %Ω−1) Ga doped CdO films.

A comprehensive study on SILAR grown cobalt doped CdO thin films

Herein, pure and cobalt (Co) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films successfully deposited onto glass slides by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. And, the structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties were studied by employing X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (Uv-vis), Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, I-V measurements for the produced samples. The XRD analysis uncovered that the CdO films exhibited cubic phase of cadmium oxide with the preferred orientation (111) plane. And, it showed that Co atoms successfully incorporated into the CdO lattices as no secondary phases were detected in the XRD spectra. The FE-SEM images displayed that the introduced impurities modified the surface morphologies. The EDAX analysis definitely proved the presence of the aimed materials (Cd, O, and Co) on the SILAR grown samples. The Uv-vis spectroscopy showed that optical energy bandgap enhanced from 2.5 eV to 2.93 eV as CdO nanostructures (NSs) doped with the different Co doping concentrations. The PL spectrum revealed that the luminescence characteristics of produced films were evidently influenced by the Co doping in the CdO NSs. Also, the resistivity of the produced samples was found to be decreased by the help of the I-V measurements.

CdO:Ag semiconductor nanowires grown by spray method

The silver (Ag) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) semiconductor nanowires grown by spray pyrolysis technique have been analyzed for comparing to CdO with structural, optical, electrical and morphological through XRD (X-ray diffraction), UV–Vis spectroscopy, I–V (current–voltage), PL (photoluminescence), SEM (scanning electron microscope). XRD results shown that the thin films have a cubic form CdO and have sharp and narrow peaks in (111), (200), (220), (311) and (222) planes. UV–Vis analysis measurement shown that the bandgap of CdO thin films decreased, then increased with rising Ag dopant with Burstein-Moss effect and the transmittance of undoped and Ag doped CdO thin films is high between 65% and 68%. PL measurements shown that all thin films have UV emission around 384 nm (3.24 eV), blue emission around 420 nm (2.95 eV), green emission around 532 nm (2.33 eV), around red emission 738 nm (1.68 eV) and infrared emission around 794 nm (1.56 eV) emissions. SEM images shown the nanowire structure formation with Ag doping of the samples. I–V measurements at room temperature have shown us that both samples illustrate good electrical conductivity and increase the electrical conductivity of nanowire structures observed with Ag dopant in SEM images.

Temperature-Dependent Cationic Doping-Driven Phonon Dynamics Investigation in CdO Thin Films Using Raman Spectroscopy

In the present work, undoped cadmium oxide (CdO)- and 1% Tin (Sn)-doped CdO thin films were prepared by the sol–gel route. These samples have been analyzed by temperature (T)-dependent (80–500 K) Raman spectroscopy and studied for their lattice dynamics and vibrational density of states. Results indicate that the room T synthesized pure CdO thin film manifests two prime second order features, that is, 300.5 cm–1 transverse optical (TO) and 488 cm–1 longitudinal optical (LO) phonon modes. However, incorporation of cationic-assisted impurity (Sn) with larger ionic radii results in a softening of the high-frequency LO (480.5 cm–1) mode via lattice deformation scattering potential. In fact, selective Sn doping increases the carrier concentration in the host CdO matrix which subsequently mitigates intraionic anharmonicity owing to increased Coulomb screening, leading to disappearance of the low-frequency TO mode (300.5 cm–1). In the case of pure CdO thin films, surface electron-induced electron–LO phonon coupling causes the intensity enhancement in LO modes, while negligible four-phonon anharmonic coupling results in lowering of full width at half maxima below Debye T. On the other hand, Frühlich interaction in the polar LO phonon mode supersedes the impact of anharmonic decay and dominates the overall phonon decay process by impurity incorporation, via appropriate Sn doping. Theoretical phonon dispersion profiles throughout the Brillouin zone with increasing T suggests stronger TO phonon mode softening along with optical branch broadening followed by LO–TO splitting. The acoustic branch barely suffers any shift with changing T which cannot be observed in experimental spectra. However, the flexural phonon modes confer a direct indication of changed rigidity and bond stiffness with varying T. Overall, the present investigation provides experimental evidence regarding the significance of Debye T, below and above which the three- and four-phonon anharmonicity are feasible in phonon scattering in conjunction with theoretical insights.

Semiconductor CdTe-Doped CdO Thin Films: Impact of Hydrogenation on the Optoelectronic Properties

Doping or incorporation with exotic elements are two manners to regulate the optoelectronic properties of transparent conducting (TCO) cadmium oxide (CdO). Nevertheless, the method of doping host CdO by CdTe semiconductor is of high importance. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of CdTe-doped CdO films are studied for the sake of promoting their conducting parameters (CPs), including their conductivity, carrier concentration, and carrier mobility, along with transparency in the NIR spectral region; these are then compared with the influence of doping the host CdO by pure Te ions. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical absorption spectroscopy, and electrical measurements are used to characterise the deposited films prepared by thermal evaporation. Numerous results are presented and discussed in this work; among these results, the optical properties are studied through a merging of concurrent BGN (redshift) and BGW (blue shift) effects as a consequence of doping processes. The impact of hydrogenation on the characterisations of the prepared films is investigated; it has no qualitative effect on the crystalline structure. However, it is found that TCO-CPs are improved by the process of CdTe doping followed by hydrogenation. The utmost TCO-CP improvements are found with host CdO film including ~ 1 %Te, in which the resistivity decreases by ~ 750 %, carrier concentration increases by 355 %, and mobility increases by ~ 90% due to the increase of Ncarr. The improvement of TCO-CPs by hydrogenation is attributed to the creation of O-vacancies because of H2 molecule dissociation in the presence of Te ions. These results reflect the potential of using semiconductor CdTe -doped CdO thin films in TCO applications. Nevertheless, improvements of the host CdO CPs with CdTe dopant are of a lesser degree compared with the case of doping the host CdO with pure Te ions.

Improved optoelectronic properties of Gd doped cadmium oxide thin films through optimized film thickness for alternative TCO applications

Transparent and conducting thin films of pure and gadolinium(Gd) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) were deposited on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering at ambient temperature to develop indium free, alternate transparent conducting electrode for optoelectronic devices. The impacts of Gd doping and film thickness on physical properties of the deposited films were investigated. Mechanism of transmittance, conduction and the scattering process were also discussed. The films showed cubic structure with predominant orientation along (111) plane. All the deposited films were smooth and homogeneous with decreasing roughness from 2.23 nm to 1.69 nm for Gd doped CdO thin film. Pristine CdO film showed peculiar morphology of nano pyramidal shaped grains on the surface. The average transmittance of the films increased from 79% to 88% with the doping of Gd. The Gd doped CdO (GCO) film at a thickness of 900 nm exhibits a maximum transmittance of 93% in visible range. The Gd doped CdO film deposited at a thickness of 900 nm showed the best optoelectronic properties with high average transmittance (88%) and low resistivity (7.203 × 10−5 Ω cm). This result indicates that the Gd doped CdO thin films deposited with suitable thickness can be used as an alternative for high performance TCO in various optoelectronic devices.

Theoretical and experimental investigation of structural and optical properties of lithium doped cadmium oxide thin films

In this work, undoped CdO and Lithium doped CdO (Li:CdO) with 2% and 6% concentrations thin films were deposited using spray pyrolysis technique. Structural, morphological and optical properties of the deposited films were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and UV–vis spectroscopy. The results and the density functional theory (DFT) showed that CdO have cubic structure. The exchange-correlation functions were indicated with generalized gradient approximation (GGA) by DFT. Experimental optical results showed that transmittance was decreased from 79% (undoped CdO) to 30% (CdO doped with 6% Li); and the theoretical results showed that it decreased from 81% (undoped CdO) to 31.55% (CdO doped with 6% Li). Similarly, energy gap (Eg) was decreased from 2.574 eV to 2.367 eV; while for the theoretical results it decreased from 2.611 eV to 2.390 eV with increasing Li doping concentration. Theoretical and experimental data were closely compatible.

Influence of fluorine doped CdO thin films by an simplified spray pyrolysis technique using nebulizer

The Cadmium oxide (CdO) and Fluorine (F) doped CdO thin films were effectively synthesized on glass substrates for different F doping concentrations (2, 4, 6, 8 at.%) using nebulized spray pyrolysis technique. The XRD analysis showed that all the films were polycrystalline having cubic structure with (111) preferential orientation. It was seen from the SEM photographs that the doping causes remarkable changes in the surface morphology. EDAX analysis clearly confirmed that the presence of expected elements cadmium, oxygen and fluorine in the final product, in appropriate proportions. The electrical study showed that the minimum resistivity value of 1.9 × 10−4 Ω cm with notable higher values of carrier concentration and mobility was achieved for 6 at.% of CdO:F film. Optical study exhibited that the band gap value of CdO film increases gradually with the increase in F-doping concentration, reaching maximum band gap value of 2.61 eV at 6 at.% and starts decreasing thereafter. Photoluminescence spectra depicted that the intensity of the emission peaks was significantly varied with doping concentrations. The high transparency, wide band gap energy, enhanced electrical properties and light sensitivity had been obtained infer that F-doped CdO thin films which find application in optoelectronic applications.

Different rare earth (Sm, La, Nd) doped magnetron sputtered CdO thin films for optoelectronic applications

Pure and rare earth elements of samarium (Sm), lanthanum (La) and neodymium (Nd) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The influence of rare earth dopants on the microstructural, morphological and optoelectronic properties of the CdO thin films were studied elaborately. The X-ray diffraction studies revealed the polycrystalline with face centered cubic structure of CdO thin films. The structural defects were increased with increase of dopant’s ionic radii. The presence of the dopants in host CdO thin films was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis. The roughness of the films was decreased for the doped samples and Nd doped CdO thin film has the minimum roughness value of 1.29 nm. All the films exhibited high transmittance in visible range and well pronounced Moss-Burstein shift was observed in the band gap value. Emission bands of photoluminescence spectra depicted the presence of oxygen vacancies. Hall Effect measurement showed an increase in carrier concentration and electrical conductivity of the films with the addition of dopants. The suitable combination of high conductivity (2872 Ω−1·cm−1) with optical transparency (88%) and lower surface roughness of Nd doped CdO thin film, makes it a potential candidate for the transparent conducting oxide in optoelectronic devices.

Multiple Epsilon-Near-Zero Resonances in Multilayered Cadmium Oxide: Designing Metamaterial-Like Optical Properties in Monolithic Materials

In this Letter, we demonstrate a new class of infrared nanophotonic materials based on monolithic, multilayered doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films, where each CdO layer is individually tuned to s...

Mg doped CdO thin films grown on glass substrate by spray pyrolysis method

The undoped and various magnesium (Mg) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films were synthesized by spray pyrolysis technique. Structural, optical and morphological examinations of the samples were carried out via various instruments. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopic measurements of the samples were performed to obtain structural properties. Ultraviolet (UV)-visible and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy measurements as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to characterize optical and morphological properties of the undoped and Mg doped CdO thin film. XRD measurements revealed that both the undoped and Mg doped CdO thin films demonstrated a cubic structure and had preferential orientations along the (200) plane. In the Raman spectrum, it was observed that the peak (266 cm−1) of the first peak belonging to the CdO thin film disappeared and the second main peak (908 cm−1) shifted to higher energies with the Mg dopant. As a result of the absorbance measurements, the band range of the samples showed a shift of the band gap from 2.15 eV to 2.43 eV with the Mg dopant, and the Burstein-Moss effect indicated a shift to gray scale and decreased from 67% to 59% in transmittance measurements. The PL results exhibited that both the undoped and Mg doped CdO thin films had a UV emission of 394 nm (3.15 eV), blue emission of 434 nm (2.86 eV), blue-yellow emission of 540 nm (2.30 eV), 735 nm (1.69 eV) and emission of 782 nm (1.59 eV). The SEM measurements indicated that the CdO thin films changed from pyramidal structures to random shape with Mg dopant.

The structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of Pb doped CdO thin films grown by spray method

The undoped and lead (Pb) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films were synthesized by spray pyrolysis technique. The samples were analyzed with optical, structural, morphological and electrical by UV–Vis spectroscopy, PL (photoluminescence), XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscope), current-voltage (IV) and Raman spectroscopy measurements. Absorption measurements showed that bandgaps of samples were increased from 2.20 eV to 2.53 eV and transmittance of samples were decreased from 67% to 19% with increasing Pb dopant. XRD measurements showed that thin films demonstrated cubic structures and have planes of (111), (200), (220), (311) and (222). SEM images showed that grain boundaries and morphologies of samples varied with Pb dopant. PL measurements showed that thin films have five emissions at around 383 nm UV emission, 437 nm blue emission, 540 nm green emission, 736 nm and 760 nm emissions and these thin films can be used in display devices. IV measurements illustrated that the electrical conductivity of Pb doped CdO is higher than undoped CdO and the Pb doped CdO samples resistant increased in rising Pb dopant in CdO. Raman spectrum measurements showed that undoped and Pb doped CdO sample displayed bands at 191 cm−1, 269 cm−1, 368 cm−1, 556 cm−1 and 922 cm−1.

Improved opto-electrical properties of spray deposited ytterbium doped cadmium oxide thin films

Transparent conducting metal oxides (TCOs) associate the properties of high optical transparency and electrical conductivity, which makes them suitable for variety of applications such as window layer in liquid crystal and electroluminescent display devices as well as in solar cells. Among different TCO’s, cadmium oxide (CdO) has received tremendous attention as a potential alternative to Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO) due to its high intrinsic dopability coupled with outstanding mobility and high electrical conductivity. In the present study, for first time the doping of ytterbium (Yb) into CdO films prepared using a simple and effective spray pyrolysis technique demonstrated. The structural, morphological and optoelectronic properties of Yb doped CdO thin films as a function of Yb concentration (1–3 at.%) have been studied. X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, optical absorption spectroscopy, luminescence measurements and for electrical properties Hall effect set up in van der Pauw configuration have been employed to study the properties of Yb-doped CdO thin films. Yb doped CdO thin films exhibit excellent optical transparency, with an average transmittance over 75% in the visible region. It is found that Yb doping widens the optical band gap from 2.63 to 2.88 eV, via a Moss–Burstein shift and further decreases to 2.77 eV. The maximum reflectivity of 97.24% achieved for 2.5 at.% Yb:CdO film. The better values of resistivity, carrier concentration, mobility and figure of merit have been obtained for 2.5 at.% Yb:CdO, which are 2.6 × 10−4 Ω cm, 13.9 × 1020 cm−3, 17.39 cm2/Vs and 45.87 × 10−3 (Ω)−1 respectively. The obtained results revealed that Yb dopant has a significant influence on the optoelectronic properties of CdO-based TCO compound.

Effect of Gd3+ doping on key structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties of CdO thin films fabricated by spray pyrolysis using perfume atomizer

Gadolinium-doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films were fabricated by spray pyrolysis technique using a perfume atomizer on the glass and silicon substrates at 350 °C. The effect of increasing Gd concentration on the electrical, morphological, optical, and structural properties of deposited films was analyzed. Structural analysis of the pristine and doped CdO thin films showed cubic structures with preferred orientation of (200) direction. The estimated crystallite values ranged from 15 to 21 nm. The structural parameters like dislocation density, microstrain, a number of crystallites per unit area, and texture coefficient were also studied. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed uniformly oriented and cauliflower-like nanostructures grown on the glass substrate for 3at.%-doped CdO films. The doped films' optical transmittance is found to be initially increased and systematically decreased with respect to doping concentrations. The band gap value is in the range of 2.42–2.30 eV for various Gd-doping concentrations (0, 1, 3, and 5%), respectively. The photoluminescence spectra (PL) of films were studied at room temperature and confirms the visible and green emission’ peaks are at wavelength 463 and 528 nm, respectively. From the Hall Effect studies, it proved that all the CdO films belong to an n-type degenerate semiconductor, and the low electrical resistivity value was around 3.64 × 10−4 Ω cm. The n-CdO/p-Si structure with different doping concentrations was subjected to photoconductivity studies and found that it is the maximum of 3% Gd concentration. Higher values of photo responsivity and quantum efficiency was found ~365 mA/W and ~76.64%, respectively, for 3at.% Gd-doped CdO films.

Gas sensing and opto-electronic properties of spray deposited cobalt doped CdO thin films

Present work is focused on the improvement of gas sensing and opto-electronic properties of cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis technique, with different cobalt (Co) dopant concentrations in the final spray solution. The XRD patterns reveal that the preferential growth is shifted between (111) and (200) depending on the Co- doping concentrations. The Cd-O bond vibrations were confirmed by micro-Raman analysis. The oxidization state of metal elements was determined by XPS analysis. The FE-SEM analysis revealed the variation in surface microstructure due to the variation in Co- doping concentration in CdO thin films. The elemental composition of deposited films was estimated using EDS. The formaldehyde gas response of 0.50wt% Co- doped CdO thin film was 23%. The electrical properties were estimated by Hall measurements in van der Pauw configuration. The 0.50wt% Co- doped CdO thin film showed a maximum carrier mobility of about 87cm2/Vs and a photocurrent of 2.50nA at 42V. The Co- doped CdO thin films showed a high optical transmittance of about 84% in the range of 600–1100nm. The band gap varies between 2.38eV and 2.50eV. The estimated high figure of merit is 4.79×10−3Ω−1 for 0.50wt% of Co- doped CdO film.

High mobility yttrium doped cadmium oxide thin films

Donor doped CdO thin films on c-plane sapphire are prepared by reactive co-sputtering from Cd-metal and Y-metal targets which are driven using pulsed-dc and RF power respectively. Intrinsic CdO exhibits a carrier density of 1.8 × 1019 cm−3 and a mobility of 330 cm2 V−1 s−1. By increasing the Y-flux, carrier density values can be increased smoothly and reproducibly to a maximum value of 3.3 × 1020 cm−3. Mobility increases with Y flux, and exhibits a broad plateau between approximately 5 × 1019 cm−3 and 2 × 1020 cm−3. Higher carrier concentrations produce a sharp drop in mobility. The increase in mobility is attributed to a reduction of intrinsic donors (i.e., oxygen vacancies) with increasing carrier density while the ultimate decrease in mobility results from a combination of factors including cadmium vacancies, reduced crystal quality, and smaller crystallite sizes, all of which accompany carrier density values greater than the mid 1020 cm−3 range. This work demonstrates that CdO thin films can be prepared by magnetron sputtering with transport properties and crystal quality that are comparable to those grown using molecular beam epitaxy.

Effect of La doping on the structural, optical and electrical properties of spray pyrolytically deposited CdO thin films

Abstract Solution based chemical spray pyrolysis technique was employed to deposit lanthanum (La) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films on soda-lime microscope glass slides. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that deposited films are polycrystalline having cubic crystal system. The undoped and 0.25 wt % La doped CdO films show relatively intense (111) plane, which is shifted to (200) plane for doping concentrations greater than 0.50 wt %. The parameters such as lattice constants, crystallite size, micro-strain, dislocation density and texture coefficient are extracted from XRD data. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis confirmed the smooth and uniform surface. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis was used to estimate the preliminary information on elemental composition. The deposited undoped and La doped films possess optical transmittance ranging 78–82% in the visible and near infrared (NIR) region. The estimated direct optical band gap of undoped and La doped CdO thin films is varied between 2.38 eV and 2.46 eV. Hall measurements confirmed the n-type conductivity in the films. The doping-modulated mobility and carrier concentration are ranging 68 cm2/V s–78 cm2/V s, and 1.0 × 1020 cm−3–4.06 × 1020 cm−3, respectively. Room temperature micro-Raman studies confirmed the metal oxide (Cd O) bond vibrations in deposited films. A high figure of merit (11.45 × 10−3 Ω−1) is obtained from 1.0 wt % La doped CdO film.