The Effect of Copper Doping on Some Structural and Electrical Properties of Titanium Dioxide Nanofilms

Abstract

Thin films of titanium dioxide (TiO2) with several copper ratios were deposited on glass substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for pure and doped samples (TiO2 Pure, 1 % Cu, 2 % Cu, and 3 % Cu), energy (600 mJ), and frequency (6 Hz).  X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed that the width of the peaks decreases with increasing the ratio of doping with copper. This leads to an increase in the crystal size and in the intensity of the copper peaks, as well as a gradual decrease in the intensity of the titanium dioxide peaks. The results of the atomic force microscope showed that increasing the inoculation percentage leads to an increase in the surface roughness and the average grain diameter, and thus an increase in the growth of the particle size. The electrical tests (Hall effect) showed that the prepared films are of (n-type) and that the concentration of carriers (n) increased with the doping ratio, while the mobility values ​​(µH) decreased directly with the increase in copper. The electrical conductivity (DC) test showed an increase in the activation energy as a result of the increase in the copper inoculation percentage and thus the electrical conductivity increases.