A Study of Structural and Photoluminescence for Al-Doped CdO Thin Films

Al-doped CdO thin films were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at different deposition time and substrate temperature. X-ray diffraction showed that the changes in the intensities of the (200), (220), and (311) planes followed a similar trend with increase in deposition time. The surface of the thin film was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Grain sizes of Al-doped CdO thin films increased significantly with increasing deposition time. The film thicknesses were 0.09, 0.12, 0.20, and 0.225 μm for the deposition times of 1, 2, 3, and 4 h, respectively. The photoluminescence spectra of the Al-doped CdO thin films were measured at room temperature. The photoluminescence wavelength changed in the sequence, green, blue, green, and blue, with increasing deposition time, which indicates that blue light emitting films can be fabricated by adjusting the processing parameters