Effect of sintering on optical, structural and photoluminescence properties of ZnO thin films prepared by sol-gel process

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have been deposited on glass substrates via sol-gel technique using zinc acetate dihydrate as precursor by spin coating of the sol at 2000 rpm. Effects of annealing temperature on optical, structural and photo luminescence properties of the deposited ZnO films have been investigated. The phase transition from amorphous to polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure was observed at an annealing temperature of 400 degrees C. An average transmittance of 87% in the visible region has been obtained at room temperature. The optical transmittance has slightly increased with increase of annealing temperature. The band gap energy was estimated by Tauc's method and found to be 3.22 eV at room temperature. The optical band gap energy has decreased with increasing annealing temperature. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity increased with annealing temperature up to 200 degrees C and decreased at 300 degrees C. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spectroscopic and electrical properties of SiO2 films prepared by simple and cost effective sol-gel process

Amorphous SiO2 thin films were prepared on glass and silicon substrates by cost effective sol-gel method. Tetra ethyl ortho silicate (TEOS) was used as the precursor material, ethanol as solvent and concentrated HCl as a catalyst. The films were characterized at different annealing temperatures. The optical transmittance was slightly increased with increase of annealing temperature. The refractive index was found to be 1.484 at 550 nm. The formation of SiO2 film was analyzed from FT-IR spectra. The MOS capacitors were designed using silicon (1 0 0) substrates. The current-voltage (I-V), capacitance-voltage (C-V) and dissipation-voltage (D-V) measurements were taken for all the annealed films deposited on Si (1 0 0). The variation of current density, resistivity and dielectric constant of SiO2 films with different annealing temperatures was investigated and discussed for its usage in applications like MOS capacitor. The results revealed the decrease of dielectric constant and increase of resistivity of SiO2 films with increasing annealing temperature. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical, electrical and dielectric properties of TiO(2)-SiO(2) films prepared by a cost effective sol-gel process

Titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) and silicon dioxide (SiO(2)) thin films and their mixed films were synthesized by the sol-gel spin coating method using titanium tetra isopropoxide (TTIP) and tetra ethyl ortho silicate (TEOS) as the precursor materials for TiO(2) and SiO(2) respectively. The pure and composite films of TiO(2) and SiO(2) were deposited on glass and silicon substrates. The optical properties were studied for different compositions of TiO(2) and SiO(2) sols and the refractive index and optical band gap energies were estimated. MOS capacitors were fabricated using TiO(2) films on p-silicon (1 0 0) substrates. The current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics were studied and the electrical resistivity and dielectric constant were estimated for the films annealed at 200 degrees C for their possible use in optoelectronic applications. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dielectric properties of (110) oriented PbZrO3 and La-modified PbZrO3 thin films grown by sol-gel process on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate

Highly (110) preferred orientated antiferroelectric PbZrO3 (PZ) and La-modified PZ thin films have been fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using sol-gel process. Dielectric properties, electric field induced ferroelectric polarization, and the temperature dependence of the dielectric response have been explored as a function of composition. The Tc has been observed to decrease by ∼ 17 °C per 1 mol % of La doping. Double hysteresis loops were seen with zero remnant polarization and with coercive fields in between 176 and 193 kV/cm at 80 °C for antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transformation. These slim loops have been explained by the high orientation of the films along the polar direction of the antiparallel dipoles of a tetragonal primitive cell and by the strong electrostatic interaction between La ions and oxygen ions in an ABO3 perovskite unit cell. High quality films exhibited very low loss factor less than 0.015 at room temperature and pure PZ; 1 and 2 mol % La doped PZs have shown the room temperature dielectric constant of 135, 219, and 142 at the frequency of 10 kHz. The passive layer effects in these films have been explained by Curie constants and Curie temperatures. The ac conductivity and the corresponding Arrhenius plots have been shown and explained in terms of doping effect and electrode resistance.

Antimicrobial Properties of Nanostructured TiO2 Plus Fe Additive Thin Films Synthesized by a Cost-Effective Sol-Gel Process

We prepared thin films composed of pure TiO2 or TiO2 with an Fe additive (at concentrations of 0.2-0.8 wt%) via a simple and cost effective sol gel process, and tested their antifungal properties (against Candida albicans (MTCC-1637), Candida tropicalis (MTCC-184), Candida parapsilosis (MTCC-2509), and Candida glabrata (MTCC-3019) and antibacterial properties (against Staphylococcus faecalis (NCIM-2604) Staphylococcus epidermidis (NCIM-2493), Staphylococcus aureus (NCIL-2122), and Bacillus subtilis (NCIM-2549)). The films were deposited on glass and Si substrates and subjected to annealing at 400 degrees C for 3 h in ambient air. The film structural and morphological properties were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy profilometry and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Antifungal and antibacterial tests were conducted using the drop test method. Among the species examined, Candida albicans (MTCC-1637), and Staphylococcus aureus (NCIL-2122) showed complete colony formation inhibition after exposure for 4 h for the TiO2 loaded with 0.8 wt% Fe thin films. These results indicate that increasing the Fe concentration increased the antimicrobial activity, with complete inhibition of colony formation after 4 h exposure.

Influence of Sn doping on structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin films prepared by cost effective sol-gel process

Tin (Sn) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were synthesized by sol-gel spin coating method using zinc acetate di-hydrate and tin chloride di-hydrate as the precursor materials. The films were deposited on glass and silicon substrates and annealed at different temperatures in air ambient. The agglomeration of grains was observed by the addition of Sn in ZnO film with an average grain size of 60 nm. The optical properties of the films were studied using UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer. The optical band gap energies were estimated at different concentrations of Sn. The MOS capacitors were fabricated using Sn doped ZnO films. The capacitance-voltage (C-V), dissipation vs. voltage (D-V) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics were studied and the electrical resistivity and dielectric constant were estimated. The porosity and surface area of the films were increased with the doping of Sn which makes these films suitable for opto-electronic applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Formation and characterization of tin oxide aerogel derived from sol-gel process based on tetra(n-butoxy)tin(IV)

Transparent and translucent SnO2 aerogels with high specific surface area (>300m(2)/g) have been prepared by sol-gel process using tetra(n-butoxy)tin(IV) as a starting compound, and supercritical drying technique for solvent extraction. Light scattering measurements reveal that the polymeric cluster size distribution in sol system is gradually broadened during sol-gel transition. SEM images show that the aerogels are made up of the cottonlike oxide agglomerates with a large number of Pores. TEM images show that these aerogels seem to be self-similar at different magnifications. Their pore size distribution is pretty wide ranging, from mesopore to macropore especially for that of translucent aerogel. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical and surface properties of hybrid TiO2/ormosil planar waveguide prepared by the sol-gel process

Two kinds of silanes, 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GLYMO) and 3-trimethoxysililpropylmethacrylate (TMSPM), were used to prepare ormosil waveguide films by the sol-gel method. Thirty percent Ti(OBu)(4) and 70% silane were contained in the precursor sets. The properties of films were measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer (UV-vis), atomic force microscopy (AFM), m-line and scattering-detection method. The films from GLYMO and TMSPM precursors exhibit similar thickness (2.58 mu m for GLYMO, 2.51 mu m for TMSPM) and refractive index (1.5438 for GLYMO, 1.5392 for TMSPM, lambda=632.8 nm), but the film from TMSPM precursor has higher propagation loss (1.024 dB/cm, lambda=632.8 nm) than the film prepared from GLYMO (0.569 dB/cm, lambda=632.8 nm). Furthermore, the film prepared from TMSPM is easy to be opaque and cracks during coating whereas the same phenomenon was not found for the film prepared with GLYMO. It is confirmed that GLYMO is a better precursor than TMSPM for waveguide film preparation. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.

Comparison of TiO2 and ZrO2 films deposited by electron-beam evaporation and by sol-gel process

TiO2 and ZrO2 films are deposited by electron-beam (EB) evaporation and by sol-gel process. The film properties are characterized by visible and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, x-ray diffraction analysis, surface roughness measure, absorption and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) test. It is found that the sol-gel Elms have lower refractive index, packing density and roughness than EB deposited films due to their amorphous structure and high OH group concentration in the film. The high LIDT of sol-gel films is mainly due to their amorphous and porous structure, and low absorption. LIDT of EB deposited film is considerably affected by defects in the Elm, and LIDT of sol-gel deposited film is mainly effected by residual organic impurities and solvent trapped in the film.

Preparation and characterization of polyimide/Al2O3 hybrid films by sol-gel process

A sol-gel process has been developed to prepare polyimide (PI)/Al2O3 hybrid films with different contents of Al2O3 based on pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA) as monomers. FESEM and TEM images indicated that Al2O3 particles are relatively well dispersed in the polyimide matrix after ultrasonic treatment of the sol from aluminum isopropoxide and thermal imidization of the gel film. The dimensional stability, thermal stability, mechanical properties of hybrid PI films were improved obviously by an addition of adequate Al2O3 content, whereas, dielectric property and the elongation at break decreased with the increase of Al2O3 content. Surprisingly, the corona-resistance property of hybrid film was improved greatly with increasing Al2O3 content within certain range as compared with pure PI film.

Bluish-white emission from radical carbonyl impurities in amorphous Al2O3 prepared via the Pechini-type sol-gel process

Many efforts have been devoted to exploring novel luminescent materials that do not contain expensive or toxic elements, or do not need mercury vapor plasma as the excitation source. In this paper, amorphous Al2O3 powder samples were prepared via the Pechini-type sol-gel process. The resulting samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), photoluminescence (PL) excitation and emission spectra, kinetic decay, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR).