A Study of the Structural and Surface Morphology and Photoluminescence of Ni-Doped AlN Thin Films Grown by Co-Sputtering

Abstract

Aluminum nitride (AlN) is a semiconductor material possessing a hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with a large band gap of 6.2 eV. AlN thin films have several potential applications and areas for study, particularly in optoelectronics. This research study focused on the preparation of Ni-doped AlN thin films by using DC and RF magnetron sputtering for optoelectronic applications. Additionally, a comparative analysis was also carried out on the as-deposited and annealed thin films. Several spectroscopy and microscopy techniques were considered for the characterization of structural (X-ray diffraction), morphological (SEM), chemical bonding (FTIR), and emission (PL spectroscopy) properties. The XRD results show that the thin films have an oriented c-axis hexagonal structure. SEM analysis validated the granular-like morphology of the deposited sample, and FTIR results confirm the presence of chemical bonding in deposited thin films. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra exhibit different peaks in the visible region when excited at different wavelengths. A sharp and intense photoluminescence peak was observed at 426 nm in the violet-blue region, which can be attributed to inter-band transitions due to the incorporation of Ni in AlN. Most of the peaks in the PL spectra occurred due to direct-band recombination and indirect impurity-band recombination. After annealing, the intensity of all observed peaks increases drastically due to the development of new phases, resulting in a decrease in defects and a corresponding increase in the crystallinity of the thin film. The observed structural, morphological, and photoluminescence results suggest that Ni: AlN is a promising candidate to be used in optoelectronics applications, specifically in photovoltaic devices and lasers.

Magnetic Hyperthermia and Antibacterial Response of CuCo2O4 Nanoparticles Synthesized through Laser Ablation of Bulk Alloy

“…Due to expansion and compression, the cavitation bubbles collapsed at their threshold volume, releasing particles into the liquid. These ligand-free reactive nanomaterials have the ability to develop a wide range of unique nanomaterials with a number of various geometries [44][45][46][47]. Irradiating a solution that already contains a broad range of nanoparticles with a pulsed laser results in the fragmentation of the nanoparticles, as well as the potential formation of alloyed NPs.…”