Co-sputtering of Lu2O3, Eu2O3 and Ga2O3 for optoelectronics applications

Abstract

In this paper oxides of lutetium, gallium and europium were co-sputtered on to soda lime glass substrates to produce mixed rare earth oxides by physical vapour deposition (RF magnetron sputtering). Post deposition, the films were characterized by FESEM, XRD, ED-XRF and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The combinatorial oxides were successfully deposited on soda lime glass substrate with an aggregate thickness of 433 nm with uniform nanocrystalline microstructure and a transparent surface, with no visible cracks and defects. The optical properties show that the optical transmittance in the visible region (300 to 800 nm) is around 83%. The Tauc plot calculates that the band gap to be 3.96 eV indicating its good light absorbing capability. This shows that co-sputtering is an effective method to produce mixed rare earth oxides with wide band gap which can increase the operating temperatures and switching speeds for opto-electronic devices (like LED and radar).