Improvement in photo-device properties of CuO thin films for opto-electronic applications: effects of (Ni, Co) co-doping

We report co-doping effects of transition metal elements (Ni, Co) primarily on the opto-electronic properties of CuO thin films. CuO, CuO:Ni(1%), CuO:Co(1%) and CuO:Ni(1%):Co(1%) thin films were deposited via the spray pyrolysis route. Structural studies revealed the monoclinic CuO structure for all films. For all the films scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed a crack-free and homogeneous surface. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of all the films exhibited four emission peaks at 415, 451, 477, and 521 nm wavelengths. The optical bandgap (E (g)) values were around 2.12 eV, 2.18 eV, 2.05 eV and 1.84 eV for CuO, CuO:Ni(1%), CuO:Co(1%) and CuO:Ni(1%):Co(1%)thin films, respectively. CuO:Ni(1%):Co(1%) photo-device displayed a large responsivity (R) of 0.43 AW(-1), external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 100% and detectivity (D *) of 9.55 x 10(9) Jones. Hence, co-doping of transition metal elements would be one of the effective approaches for enhancing opto-electronic properties of metal oxide compounds.

Automated summary

We investigated the co-doping effects of transition metal elements (Ni, Co) on the opto-electronic properties of CuO thin films. Our findings showed that co-doping significantly enhances the optical and electrical properties of the films.