Effect of Mn doping on the structural, optical, and magnetic properties of In2O3 films (original) (raw)

2013, Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

opportunity to explore the possible changes in their physical and chemical properties with size and shape [1-3]. Tin oxide (SnO 2) is one of the n-type wide band-gap semiconductor material (3.6 eV) and has large exciton binding energy (130 meV) [4]. SnO 2 evinces interest because it is a naturally non-stoichiometric prototypical transparent conducting oxide. It has a high band gap of almost 4 eV, plasma frequency in the IR region and, when suitably doped, can be used both as a p-type and n-type semiconductor. It crystallizes in the tetragonal rutile type of structure, D144h (P42/mnm) with two Sn and four oxygens per unit cell. The lattice parameters are a = b = 0.4737 nm, c = 0.3185 nm and c/a = 0.673 [5]. As an n-type semiconductor, SnO 2 shows very high sensitivity towards H 2 , CO, hydrocarbon, and alcohol. It combines the low electrical resistance region. This property makes it a noticeable applicant for optoelectronic applications. The optoelectronic properties such as photoluminescence and optical band gap of SnO 2 can also be improved by impurity doping. It has been used as a solid state sensor mainly due to its sensitivity towards different gaseous species [6, 7], photovoltaic energy conversion [8], to make transparent conductive thin film coatings [9], solar cells [10] etc. SnO 2 nanoparticles drag scrutiny due to its promising applications in gas sensors [11], microelectronics [12], solar cells [13] and photoelectrochemistry [14], lithium cells [15] and photocatalysts [16]. The high chemical stability, low cost, nontoxicity and excellent electro-optical properties make it suitable for numerous technological applications [17]. Another property of transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) such as SnO 2 is that they are transparent in the visible region and are highly reflective in the infrared region [18]. This property is responsible for today's dominant use of SnO 2 as an energy conserving material [18]. SnO 2 coated architectural windows, for instance, allow