Correlation Between Oxygen Partial Pressure And Properties Of Pulsed Laser Deposited SnO2/Fe2O3 Composite Films

¹Department of Applied Physics, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad 826004, India

²UGC-DAE Consortiums for Scientific Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452017, India

Adv. Mater. Lett., 2015, 6 (10), pp 930-934

DOI: 10.5185/amlett.2015.6017

Publication Date (Web): Sep 18, 2015

Copyright © IAAM-VBRI Press

E-mail:sksharma.ism@gmail.com

Abstract

SnO₂/Fe₂O₃ composite thin films were deposited on quartz substrates at various oxygen partial pressures with a substrate temperature of 750 °C by pulsed laser deposition. The structural and optical properties of the deposited films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–visible spectroscopy and Photoluminescence. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the formation of mixed phases (tetragonal SnO₂ and hexagonal α-Fe₂O₃) at lower oxygen partial pressure (0.1 mTorr) and only tetragonal phase at higher oxygen partial pressures (50-250 mTorr). Atomic force microscopy studies show the dense and uniform distribution of composite films. The average RMS roughness of the films increases with increasing oxygen partial pressure. The bandgap was found varying between 3.55 and 3.85 eV for different oxygen pressures. A strong broad blue emission band was observed for all the oxygen partial pressures. The origin of the blue emission in the composite film is discussed with the help of vacancy creation. A correlation between oxygen partial pressure and the properties of SnO₂/Fe₂O₃ .

Keywords

Thin film, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence.