Microstructural, morphological and optical properties of sprayed thin films of indium doped gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃: In)

Abstract

This paper featured a study on undoped and Indium doped Gadolinium oxide Gd2O3: In thin films, elaborated on a glass substrates at temperature of 500 °C by homemade Spray Pyrolysis technique, at different Indium concentrations as follow 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 at %. This thin layers, where a subjects to a numerous characterization techniques to study the effect caused by introducing the dopant element “Indium” in Gadolinium oxide lattice on the structural properties (X-Ray Diffraction and Raman spectroscopy) and optical properties. The structural characterization carried by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals a polycrystalline Monoclinic B-type structure for all Gd2O3:In thin films. Moreover, these findings are verified by the Raman spectroscopy results. Concerning the optical properties of our thin films, the optical measurements carried by UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer shows an increase in the transmittance value within the visible region [370-900 nm] and in the band gap energy value by raising Indium doping rate from 0 at % to 6 at %, also the disorder caused inside the thin films were estimated by the Urbach equation. That said, the 2 at % Indium doped gadolinium oxide thin film provides interesting results that can be applied in solar cells as an optical window material.

Effect of Cobalt Doping on The Structural, Linear and Nonlinear Optical Parameters of Manganese Oxide Thin Layers

“…The Urbach energy parameter projects both the dynamic disorder (interactions of electrons with phonons) and the lattice disorder (defects, impurities). [ 41 ] It's obtained through the following equation [ 1 ] : $$$$\begin{equation}\alpha {\;} = {\alpha _0}{\;}{e^{\frac{{h\nu }}{{{E_u}}}}}\end{equation}$$$$where α 0 is a constant, E u Urbach energy (eV) reveals the inherent lattice anomalies shown in structural disorder and defectiveness. The values obtained are 0.408, 0.413, and 0.469 eV for the undoped and Co:Mn 3 O 4 (2, 4 at%) respectively, and presented in the inset of Figure 7c.…”

“…The transparent conducting oxide family, also known as the TCO family, has made it feasible to reach and explore a wide range of applications that combine optical and electrical features. Such as solar cells, [ 1 ] sensors, [ 2 ] information storage, and catalysis.…”

The tin doping effect on the physicochemical and nonlinear optical properties of the manganese oxide (Mn3O4: Sn) thin films

“…The average crystallite size and micro-strain effect are subjects of investigation by the Williamson-Hall equation that have been described by Rossi et al [13]. The extracted values of the crystallite size and strain from these plots (Figure 2) are shown in table 1.…”

“…Secondly, the average crystallites size, D, and the micro-strain, ε, were investigated using two different routes, first route has been described by the Scherrer equation and the second route obtained through the Williamson-Hall method, respectively [10,13,14]:…”

“…The absorbance data were used to calculate the absorption coefficient, which will be used to obtain the band gap energy of the Mn3O4: Sn (0, 2, and 4 at %) thin films through the Tauc model that was described by Rossi et al [13]. The equation of the Tauc model is the following:…”