The optoelectrical properties of rare earth element Eu doped CuxO based heterojunction photodiode

In this study, the CuxO and Eu: CuxO thin films were prepared by sol gel spin coating method, which is a cheap and simple method, and coated on glass and n-Si substrates to characterize optical properties and to fabricate heterojunction photodiodes, respectively. The optical properties of CuxO films were examined by UV-VIS spectroscopy and the optical band gap of CuxO thin film increased from 2.02 eV to 2.04 eV with Eu doping. Raman measurements confirmed a single crystal phase of CuO. The I-V characteristics of the fabricated photodiodes were carried out under dark and various light intensities. The photosensitivity (I-photo/I-dark), ideality factor (n), barrier height (Phi(B)) and series resistance (R-S) of diodes were calculated and compared. It was observed that the Eu doping improved the optoelectrical properties of CuxO/n-Si photodiode. In addition, the capacitance behavior of diodes was studied by performing C-V measurement and some diode parameters such as Phi(B) and depletion width (W-D) were obtained by using capacitance data.

Automated summary

In this study, CuxO and Eu:CuxO thin films were prepared using sol-gel spin coating method, coated on glass and n-Si substrates for optical property characterization and fabrication of heterojunction photodiodes. Optical properties and optoelectrical performance of the photodiodes were improved with Eu doping in CuxO/n-Si junctions.