0.006wt.%Ag-Doped Sb2O3 Nanofilms with Various Thickness: Morphological and optical properties

Abstract

In this work, Antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) nanofilms doped with Ag nanoparticle (0.006 wt.%) are prepared by thermal evaporation technique with thickness of 30, 38, 42, 48, 53 and 60 nm were deposited onto glass substrate. The effect of film thickness on morphological and optical properties were investigated. Morphology of the films are examined via AFM, the surface roughness were affected by low Ag doping. The optical measurements of the films are studied by UV-Visible spectrophotometer in the wavelength range (200-1100) nm. It was found that the transmittance (T), absorbance (A) and optical band gap (Eg) depend markedly on the films thickness. The transmittance decreased with the increasing of film thickness, while the absorbance increased. The energy gap value decreased with increasing thickness in the Sb2O3:Ag films from 3.6 eV for the film thickness 60 nm to 3.4 eV for the film thickness 30 nm. The refractive index, extinction coefficient, and real and imaginary dielectric constants obtained results show that film thickness strongly affects the optical parameters.