Synthesis and characterization of TiO2-x%Nb thin films: The role of Nb doping on ultraviolet performance

IF 3.9 3区材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Materials Science and Engineering: B Pub Date : 2025-06-26 DOI:10.1016/j.mseb.2025.118523

Ali Shirpay

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Abstract

In this study, TiO₂-x%Nb (x = 0, 1, 2, 4, 6) thin films were synthesized on glass substrates using the liquid phase deposition (LPD) method. To achieve uniformity, the thin films were deposited in two steps and subsequently annealed at 550 °C. The resulting thin films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), EDX, optical spectroscopy, and ultraviolet (UV) photoresponse measurements. XRD analysis revealed that the undoped TiO₂ thin film exhibited diffraction peaks corresponding to the TiO₂ phase. However, due to the thin nature of the Nb-doped thin films, no distinct Nb-related peaks were observed. FE-SEM images showed a relatively uniform distribution of nanoparticles across the film surfaces. Cross-sectional image indicated that the thickness was approximately 500 nm. UV–Vis spectroscopy demonstrated that Nb doping had a minimal effect on the energy gap of TiO₂-x%Nb thin films. Among the samples, the TiO₂-4 %Nb thin film exhibited the highest UV photoresponse, with a photocurrent of approximately 70 μA under UV illumination at a 10 V bias voltage. This enhanced response is attributed to the increased charge carrier density resulting from Nb incorporation. Finally, key performance metrics of the UV sensors, including Response, quantum efficiency, specific detection, and UV sensitivity were calculated and analyzed for TiO₂:x%Nb thin films.

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TiO2-x%Nb薄膜的合成与表征：Nb掺杂对紫外性能的影响

在本研究中，采用液相沉积（LPD）方法在玻璃衬底上合成了TiO2-x%Nb （x = 0,1,2,4,6）薄膜。为了达到均匀性，薄膜分两步沉积，然后在550°C下退火。利用x射线衍射（XRD）、场发射扫描电镜（FE-SEM）、EDX、光谱学和紫外（UV）光响应测量对所得薄膜进行了表征。XRD分析表明，未掺杂的TiO2薄膜呈现出与TiO2相对应的衍射峰。然而，由于nb掺杂薄膜的薄性，没有观察到明显的nb相关峰。FE-SEM图像显示纳米颗粒在薄膜表面的分布相对均匀。横截面图像显示厚度约为500 nm。紫外可见光谱结果表明，Nb掺杂对TiO2-x%Nb薄膜的能隙影响很小。其中，TiO2-4 %Nb薄膜在10 V偏置电压下的紫外光响应最高，光电流约为70 μA。这种增强的响应归因于Nb掺入导致的载流子密度的增加。最后，计算并分析了TiO2:x%Nb薄膜的紫外传感器的关键性能指标，包括响应、量子效率、特异检测和紫外灵敏度。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Materials Science and Engineering: B 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

2.80%

发文量

481

审稿时长

3.5 months

期刊介绍： The journal provides an international medium for the publication of theoretical and experimental studies and reviews related to the electronic, electrochemical, ionic, magnetic, optical, and biosensing properties of solid state materials in bulk, thin film and particulate forms. Papers dealing with synthesis, processing, characterization, structure, physical properties and computational aspects of nano-crystalline, crystalline, amorphous and glassy forms of ceramics, semiconductors, layered insertion compounds, low-dimensional compounds and systems, fast-ion conductors, polymers and dielectrics are viewed as suitable for publication. Articles focused on nano-structured aspects of these advanced solid-state materials will also be considered suitable.