Influence of Oxygen Flow Rate on the Photoluminescence Properties of Ga2O3∶Cr Thin Films Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

Abstract: Cr-doped Ga₂O₃(Ga₂O₃∶Cr) thin films were deposited on sapphire (α-Al₂O₃) substrates by dual-target RF magnetron co-sputtering at different oxygen flow rates. Structures and optical properties of the deposited Ga₂O₃∶Cr thin films were investigated in detail before and after annealing at 900 ℃. The results clearly reveal that the deposited Ga₂O₃∶Cr thin films are amorphous, and their luminescence mainly appear in the blue-green band. The structures transform from amorphous into polycrystalline after 900 ℃ annealing, and near-infrared luminescence band originated from the doping Cr³⁺ is well observed. Both the crystalline quality and near-infrared luminescence intensity of the annealed films show strong dependence on oxygen flow rates, while their optical band gaps keep almost unchanged. Moreover, in the range of oxygen flow rates, it has been demonstrated that the Ga₂O₃∶Cr thin film with the strongest near-infrared luminescence intensity could be obtained under the oxygen flow rate of 4 mL/min. In such case, the obtained film has the better crystalline quality and the amount of Cr³⁺ substituted Ga³⁺ is relatively large. This findings could be helpful for preparing Ga₂O₃∶Cr thin films with better quality.

Key words: Ga₂O₃∶Cr thin film, RF magnetron sputtering, sapphire substrate, oxygen flow rate, annealing, optical property, crystalline quality

CLC Number:

O484.4

ZHAO Xin, LIU Fenhong, ZHANG Xiaodong, LIU Changlong. Influence of Oxygen Flow Rate on the Photoluminescence Properties of Ga₂O₃∶Cr Thin Films Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering[J]. Journal of Synthetic Crystals, 2022, 51(8): 1353-1360.

References

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Influence of Oxygen Flow Rate on the Photoluminescence Properties of Ga₂O₃∶Cr Thin Films Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering

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