Influences of post-annealing temperature on the structural and electrical properties of mixed oxides (CuFeO2 and CuFe2O4) thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique

P-type mixed oxides (CuFeO2 and CuFe2O4) transparent conducting thin films have been successfully deposited on p-type Si (111) substrates at 450 °C by spray pyrolysis deposition (SPD) and annealed at 800 °C for 2 h. The crystal structure, surface morphology and electrical property have been investigated. It is observed that the CuFeO2 and CuFe2O4 thin films as deposited and annealed, have polycrystalline hexagonal structure and the crystallite size increases by annealing processes. The electrical property of the Ni/CuFeO2/Si Metal–Semiconductor–Metal (MSM) photo detectors was investigated using the current–voltage (I–V) measurements. The barrier heights ϕΒ of Ni/CuFeO2/Ni MSM thin films of as deposited and annealed on Si substrates were calculated and its values are 0.478, 0.345 eV, respectively with an applied bias voltage of 3 V.