Skip to main content
Log in

Influence of precursor concentration on physical properties of CdO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique using nebulizer

  • Published:
Applied Physics A Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films were prepared with different concentrations of precursor solution (0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.25 M, respectively) at the optimized temperature (200 °C) using the nebulized spray pyrolysis technique to obtain better crystallinity in polycrystalline thin films on amorphous glass substrates. The XRD characterization of those samples revealed a preferential orientation along the (111) plane having a cubic structure. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis displayed that all the as-deposited thin films have spherical shaped grains. The transmittance of the as-deposited CdO thin films had decreased from 88 to 71% for longer wavelength regions (600–900 nm) as the precursor concentration had increased and then increased for higher precursor concentration. The optical band gap was found to lie between 2.45 and 2.40 eV belonging to direct transition for those thin films. The presence of Cd–O bond (540 cm−1) was confirmed by FTIR spectrum. The emission properties of CdO thin films were studied by luminescence spectrum recorded at room temperature. A maximum carrier concentration and minimum resistivity values of 4.743 × 1019 cm− 3 and 1.06 × 10−3 Ω-cm, respectively, were obtained for 0.2 M precursor concentration. These CdO thin films have high optical transmittance and high room temperature conductivity, which can be used as the TCO and Solar cell (window layer) material.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. B. Saha, S. Das, K.K. Chattopadhyay, Electrical and optical properties of Al doped cadmium oxide thin films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Sol. En. Mater. Solar Cells 91, 1692–1697 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. K. Ravichandran, N. Dineshbabu, T. Arun, C. Ravidas, S. Valanarasu, Effect of fluorine (an anionic dopant) on transparent conducting properties of Sb (a cationic) doped ZnO thin films deposited using a simplified spray technique. Mater. Res. Bull. 83, 442–452 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. S.D. Ponja, S. Sathasivam, I.P. Parkin, C.J. Carmalt, Transparent conductive aluminium and fluorine co-doped zinc oxide films via aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition. RSC Adv. 4, 49723–49728 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. N. Noor, I.P. Parkin, Enhanced transparent-conducting fluorine-doped tin oxide films formed by aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition. J. Mater. Chem. C, 1, 984–996 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. C. Wang, V. Cimalla, G. Cherkashinin, H. Romanus, M. Ali, O. Ambacher, Transparent conducting indium oxide thin films grown by low-temperature metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Thin Solid Films 515, 2921–2925 (2007)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. P. Thiruramanathan, G.S. Hikku, T. Ramkumar, L. Amalraj, Study of transparent conducting oxide nature of SnO2 thin film prepared by nebulized spray pyrolysis at 573 K. J Adv Phys 5, 1–3 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. K.L. Chopra, S.R. Das, Thin Film Solar Cells, (Plenum Press, New York, 1983), p. 346

    Book  Google Scholar 

  8. D.M. Mattox, Sol–gel derived, air-baked indium and tin oxide film. Thin Solid Films 204, 25–32 (1991)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. B.J. Lokhande, P.S. Patil, M.D. Uplane, Studies on cadmium oxide sprayed thin films deposited through non-aqueous medium. Mater. Chem. Phys. 84, 238–242 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. H.H. Afify, N.M. Ahmed, M.Y. Tadros, F.M. Ibrahim, Temperature dependence growth of CdO thin film prepared by spray pyrolysis. J. Electr. Syst. Info. Technol. 1, 119–128 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  11. N. Ito, Y. Saco, P.K. Song, A. Kaijio, K. Inoue, Y. Shigesato, Electrical and optical properties of amorphous indium zinc oxide films. Thin Solid Films 496, 99–103 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. J.T. Lim, C.H. Jeong, A. Vozny, J.H. Lee, M.S. Kim, G.Y. Yeom, Top-emitting organic light-emitting diode using transparent conducting indium oxide layer fabricated by a two-step ion beam-assisted deposition. Surf. Coat. Technol. 201, 5358–5362 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. F. Yakuphanoglu, M. Caglar, Y. Caglar, S. Ilican, Electrical characterization of nanocluster n-CdO/p-Si heterojunction diode. J. Alloys Comp. 506, 188–193 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. K. Fleischer, E. Arca, I.V. Shvets, Improving solar cell efficiency with optically optimised TCO layers, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 101, 262–269 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. R. Chandiramouli, B.G. Jeyaprakash, Review of CdO thin films. Solid State Sci. 16, 102–110 (2013)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. K. Gurumurugan, D. Mangalaraj, S.K. Narayandass, Structural characterization of cadmium oxide thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis. J. Cryst. Growth 147, 355–360 (1995)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. P. Velusamy, R. Ramesh Babu, K. Ramamurthi, M.S. Dahlem, E. Elangovan, Highly transparent conducting cerium incorporated CdO thin films deposited by a spray pyrolytic technique. RSC Adv. 5, 102741–102749 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. K.J. Rajput, T.K. Pathak, V. Kumar, L.P. Purohit, Influence of sol concentration on CdO nanostructure with gas sensing application. Appl. Surf. Sci. 409, 8–16 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. K.C. Lalithambika, K. Shanthakumari, S. Sriram, Optical properties of CdO thin films deposited by chemical bath method. Int. J. Chem Tech Res. 6(5), 3071–3077 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  20. D.A. Lamb, S.J.C. Irvine, A temperature dependant crystal orientation transition of cadmium oxide films deposited by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. J. Cryst. Growth 332, 17–20 (2011)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. K. Sankarasubramanian, P. Soundarrajan, K. Sethuraman, R. Ramesh Babu, K. Ramamurthi, Structural, optical and electrical properties of transparent conducting hydrophobic cadmium oxide thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique. Superlattice Microstruct. 69, 29–37 (2014)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. R.R. Salunkhe, D.S. Dhawale, D.P. Dubal, C.D. Lokhande, Sprayed CdO thin films for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) detection. Sens. Actuators B Chem. 140, 86–91 (2009)

  23. A. Purohit, S. Chander, M.S. Dhaka, Impact of annealing on physical properties of e-beam evaporated polycrystalline CdO thin films for optoelectronic applications. Opt. Mater. 66, 512–518 (2017)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. T.K. Subramanyam, S. Uthanna, B. Srinivasulu Naidu, Preparation and characterization of CdO films deposited by dc magnetron reactive sputtering. Mater. Lett. 35, 214–220 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. R.K. Gupta, K. Ghoh, R. Patel, P.K. Kahol, Low temperature processed highly conducting, transparent, and wide bandgap Gd doped CdO thin films for transparent electronics. J. Alloys Comp. 509, 4146–4149 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. J.R. Mohamed, C. Sanjeeviraja, L. Amalraj, Influence of substrate temperature on physical properties of (111) oriented CdIn2S4 thin films by nebulized spray pyrolysis technique. J. Asian Ceram. Soc. 4, 191–200 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. M. Anitha, V. Tamilnayagam, N. Anitha, L. Amalraj, S. Gokul Raj, Investigations on the structural, electrical and optical properties of thin films of CdO(111). J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 28, 17297–17307 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. S. Duman, G. Turgut, ,F.Ş. Özçelik, B. Gurbulak, The synthesis and characterization of sol–gel spin coated CdO thin films: as a function of solution molarity. Mater. Lett. 126, 232–235 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. D. Perednis, L.J. Gauckler, Thin film deposition using spray pyrolysis. J. Elect. Ceram. 14(2), 103–111 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  30. M.A. Rahman, M.K.R. Khan, Effect of annealing temperature on structural, electrical and optical properties of spray pyrolytic nanocrystalline CdO thin films. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 24, 26–33 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. K. Sankarasubramanian, P. Soundarrajan, T. Logu, S. Kiruthika, K. Sethuraman, R. Ramesh Babu, K. Ramamurthi, Influence of Mn doping on structural, optical and electrical properties of CdO thin films prepared by cost effective spray pyrolysis method. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 26, 346–353 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. P. Velusamy, R. Ramesh Babu, K. Ramamurthi, J. Viegas, E. Elangovan, Structural, microstructural, optical and electrical properties of spray deposited rare-earth metal (Sm) ions doped CdO thin films. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 26, 4152–4164 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. A.A. Dakhel, A.Y. Ali-Mohamed, Structural and optoelectrical properties of nanocrystalline Gd-doped CdO films prepared by sol-gel method. J. Sol Gel Sci. Technol. 55, 348–353 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. K.T.R. Reddy, C. Sravani, R.W. Mile, Characterisation of CdO thin films deposited by activated reactive evaporation. J. Cryst. Growth 184/185, 1031–1034 (1998)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. S.J. Helen, S. Suganthi Devadaon, T. Mahalingam, Improved physical properties of spray pyrolysed Al:CdO nanocrystalline thin films. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 27, 4426–4432 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. C. Ravidhas, B Anitha, A.M. Ezhil Raj, C. Sanjeeviraja, K. Ravichandran, T.S. Girisun, K. Mahalakshmi, K. Saravanakumar, Effect of nitrogen doped titanium dioxiade (N-TiO2) thin films by jet nebulizer spray technique suitable for photoconductive study. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 26, 3573–3582 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. A.A. Ziabari, F.E. Ghodsi, Surface morphology and optoelectronic studies of sol–gel derived nanostructured CdO thin films: heat treatment effect. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 23, 1628–1639 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. K.M. Eid, H.O. Taha, M.A. Kamel, A.E. Ashour, W.S. Abdel Halim, DFT calculations of the CO adsorption on Mn, Fe, Co, and Au deposited at MgO (1 0 0) and CdO (1 0 0). Appl. Surf. Sci. 258, 9876–9890 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. R. Barir, B. Benhaoua, S. Benhamida, A. Rahal, T. Sahraoui, R. Gheriani, Effect of precursor concentration on structural optical and electrical properties of NiO Thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis. J. Nanomater. 2017, 1–10 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. D.G. Zhao, S.J. .Xu, M.H. Xie, S.Y. Tong, H. Yang, Stress and its effect on optical properties of GaN epilayers grown on Si(111), 6H-SiC(0001), and c-plane sapphire. Appl. Phys. Lett. 83, 677–679 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. Z. Serbetci, R.K. Gupta, F. Yakuphanoglu, Preparation and characterization of nanorods Sb doped CdO films by sol–gel technique. J. Sol Gel Sci. Technol. 61, 477–483 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. B. Gokul, P. Matheswaran, R. Sathyamoorthy, Influence of annealing on physical properties of CdO thin films prepared by SILAR method. J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 29(1), 17–21 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. V. Bilgin, I. Akyuz, S. Kose, F. Atay, Characterization of Mn-incorporated CdO films grown by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 21, 579–585 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  44. S. Sonmezoglu, G. Cankaya, N. Serin, Phase transformation of nanostructured titanium dioxide thin films grown by sol–gel method. Appl. Phys. A 107, 233–241 (2012)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  45. R. Vinodkumar, K.J. Lethy, P.R. Arunkumar, R. Renju, N. Krishnan, V.P. Venugopalan Pillai, V.M. Pillai, R. Philip, Effect of cadmium oxide incorporation on the microstructural and optical properties of pulsed laser deposited nanostructured zinc oxide thin films. Mater. Chem. Phys.  121, 406–413 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. V. Tvarozek, P. Sutta, S. Flickyngerova, P. Gaspierik, E. Vavrinsky, I. Novotny, Preparation of transparent conductive ZnO:Al thin films for solar cells, in The Book: Semiconductor Technologies, by J. Grym (Tech Publ., Croatia, 2010) pp. 271–294 ISBN 978-953-307-080-3

    Google Scholar 

  47. A. Tadjarodi, M Imani, H. Kerdan, Application of a facile solid-state process to synthesize the CdO spherical nanoparticles. Int. Nano Lett. 3, 43–49 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. M. Zaien, N.M. Ahmed, Z. Hassan, Fabrication and characterization of nanocrystalline n-CdO/p-Si as a solar cell. Superlattices Microstruct. 52 (2012) 800–806

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  49. K. Saravanakumar, V. Muthuraj, M. Jeyaraj, The design of novel visible light driven Ag/CdO as smart nanocomposite for photodegradation of different dye contaminant. Spectrochim. Acta A, 188 291–300 (2018)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  50. K. Usharani, A.R. .Balu, V.S. Nagarethinam, M. Suganya, Characteristic analysis on the physical properties of nanostructured Mg-doped CdO thin films-doping concentration effect. Prog. Nat. Sci. Mater. Int. 25, 251–257 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. M. Benhaliliba, C.E. Benouis, A. Tiburcio-Silver, F. Yakuphanoglu, A. Avila-Garcia d, A. Tavira, R.R. Trujillo, Z. Mouffak, Luminescence and physical properties of copper doped CdO derived nanostructures. J. Lumin. 132, 2653–2658 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. M. Ramamurthy, M. Balaji, P. Thirunavukkarasu, Characterization of jet nebulizer sprayed CdO thin films for solar cell application. Optics 127(8), (2016) 3809–3819

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. L. Amalraj, C. Sanjeeviraja, M. Jayachandran, Spray pyrolysised tin disulphide thin film and characterization. J. Cryst. Growth 234, 683–689 (2002)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  54. C.H. Bhosale, A.V. Kambale, A.V. Kokate, K.Y. Rajpure, Structural, optical and electrical properties of chemically sprayed CdO thin films. Mater. Sci. Eng. B 122, 67–71 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. Amalraj.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Anitha, M., Amalraj, L. & Anitha, N. Influence of precursor concentration on physical properties of CdO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique using nebulizer. Appl. Phys. A 123, 764 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-1385-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-1385-4

Navigation