Fabrication and Characterization of TiO2 Thin Films and n-TiO2/p-Si Junction Diodes via Dip Coating Technique

R. Rajeswaria, D. Venugopala, P. Jayabala, A. Dhayal Rajb aDepartment of Physics, Gobi Arts & Science College, Gobichettipalayam, Erode 638452, Tamil Nadu, India bDepartment of Physics, Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur 635 601, Tamil Nadu, India

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The structural and electrical properties of as-prepared and calcinated TiO2 thin films prepared using the dip coating method are studied. The thin films are deposited by different dip cycles. Subsequently, the samples are used for a p-n junction diode application at room temperature. The films are characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX, UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR and I-V to understand the structural and electrical properties. The XRD pattern reveals that the TiO2 thin films deposited at ambient temperature are amorphous and the films annealed at 450° with different dipping cycles are polycrystalline in nature with tetragonal structure. The surface seems to have a uniform sphere-like morphology, with the diameter of ca. 20 nm that is observed from the SEM micrographs. The EDX spectrum confirms the presence of titanium and oxygen in the samples. The electrical behavior of the thin films is studied and it represents that the obtained maximum average conductivity is 10.68×10-12 S/cm for the annealed TiO2 thin films. The diode measurements are taken in darkness and under halogen light. The diode parameters such as ideality factor (n) and barrier height (Φb) are calculated using the J-V method

DOI:10.12693/APhysPolA.138.539 topics: thin films, sol-gel method, I-V characteristics, diode, ideality factor