Abstract
Molybdenum-doped In2O3 thin films with different atomic ratios of \( y = \frac{{[{\text{Mo}}^{6 + } ]}}{{[{\hbox{In}}^{3 + } ]}} \) = 0 at.%, 1 at.%, 3 at.%, 5 at.%, and 7 at.% have been prepared by spray pyrolysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the Mo-doped In2O3 thin films crystallized in cubic structure with (222) preferred orientation. The best crystallinity was obtained for molybdenum concentration of 3 at.%, with an increase in grain size up to 155 nm. MAUD software was applied to the x-ray diffraction patterns to determine the phases, average grain size (d), microstrain (\( \left\langle {\sigma^{2} } \right\rangle^{1/2} \)) and lattice parameters. The optical transmission was close to 75%. Doped films displayed large bandgap energy on the order of 3.52 eV to 3.56 eV. Optical parameters such as refractive index (n), packing density (p), porosity, oscillator energy (E 0), and dispersive energy (E d) were studied using the envelope method. The electrical resistivity (ρ) decreased from 650.20 × 10−3 Ω cm to 2.03 × 10−3 Ω cm for undoped and In2O3:Mo(3 at.%) thin film, respectively. Heat treatment of In2O3:Mo(3 at.%) thin film under nitrogen atmosphere at 250°C for 2 h led to further decrease in the electrical resistivity to about 5.55 × 10−4 Ω cm. These results prove that annealed In2O3:Mo(3 at.%) thin film can be considered a key material for use in optoelectronic devices as a transparent electrode or an optical window for solar cells.
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Beji, N., Souli, M., Reghima, M. et al. Effects of Molybdenum Doping and Annealing on the Physical Properties of In2O3 Thin Films. J. Electron. Mater. 46, 6628–6638 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-017-5687-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-017-5687-2