BISMUTH OXIDE THIN FILMS DEPOSITED ON SILICON THROUGH PULSED LASER ABLATION, FOR INFRARED DETECTORS

Infrared detectors are used in many human activities, from industry to military, telecommunications, environmental studies and even medicine. Bismuth oxide thin films have proved their potential for optoelectronic applications, but their uses as infrared sensors have not been thoroughly studied so far. In this paper, pulsed laser ablation of pure bismuth targets within a controlled oxygen atmosphere is proposed for the deposition of bismuth oxide films on Si (100) substrates. Crystalline films were obtained, whose uniformity depends on the deposition conditions (number of laser pulses and the use of a radio-frequency (RF) discharge of the oxygen inside the deposition chamber). The optical analysis proved that the refractive index of the films is higher than 3 and that their optical bandgap is around 1 eV, recommending them for infrared applications.