An in-depth examination of opto-electrical properties of In-Yb2O3 thin films and fabricated Al/In-Yb2O3/p-Si (MIS) hetero junction diodes

In the proposed work, the thin films have been effectively synthesized by doping the post-transition metal with rare earth metal (In-Yb2O3) on a large scale using a low-cost jet nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique at different indium (In) doping concentration (0, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5 wt %) with optimized substrate temperature 550 degrees C. The structural, morphological and opto-electrical properties are investigated using various characterization techniques. Here, the high-quality single-phase cubic structure film was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) image reveals the change in morphology with indium (In) concentration in Yb2O3 thin films. The elemental composition study approves the presence of Yb, In and O. The transmittance, optical indirect energy gap of In-Yb2O3 films have been analyzed by UV-Vis spectra. DC electrical analysis records an improved conductivity and reduced average activation energy for higher doping content of In-Yb2O3 thin films. Notably, all the diodes shows positive photo conducting properties. Specifically, when the Al/In-Yb2O3/p-Si Schottky barrier diode fabricated with higher doping concentration such as 4.5 wt. % produces the minimum ideality factor (1.791), maximum barrier height (0.692 eV) and higher photosensitive diodes.

Automated summary

In this study, thin films of post-transition metal doped with rare earth metal were successfully synthesized and characterized using various techniques. The morphology and opto-electrical properties of the films were found to change with increasing indium doping concentration. Higher doping content of indium was shown to improve the conductivity of the films, as observed through spectral and electrical analysis.