Phase transformation and optoelectronic properties of p-type CuAlO2 thin films

[[abstract]]Annealed Cu-Al-O films showed marked structural changes and differing optoelectronic properties with varying annealing temperature. Results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) demonstrated that CuO and CuAl2O4 were the intermediate reaction phases. XRD also showed that the phase grown above 800°C annealing temperature was pure CuAlO2 phase. Cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that the crystallization behavior of the Cu-Al-O films belonged to an outward model. The optimum properties of delafossite structure CuAlO2 film was attained after annealing at 800°C. The surface morphology of CuAlO2 had a cell-like surface appearance and the grain sizes were approximately 20-100 nm. The optical direct bandgap of the CuAlO2 film was estimated to be 3.11 eV. Hall effect measurements revealed that the CuAlO2 film belonged to the p-type conduction category, with a carrier concentration of 4.81 X 1016 cm-3 and the conductivity of 3.8 × 10-2 (Ω cm)-1. The optoelectronic properties of the Cu-Al-O system are dominated by the delafossite CuAlO2