Growth and characterization of spray pyrolysis deposited copper oxide thin films: Influence of substrate and annealing temperatures

• Spray parameters were optimized to deposit copper oxide film with tenorite phase.
• Role of substrate and annealing temperatures in the growth of CuO film was studied.
• CuO thin film behaved as an opaque medium in the visible region.
• Electrical conductivity was found to be decreased with increase in molarity.

The effect of substrate and annealing temperatures on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of spray deposited copper oxide thin films was investigated. The films were deposited on glass substrates using 0.05 M of cupric acetate precursor at the substrate temperatures of 523, 623 and 723 K. From the structural, morphological and optical characteristics, the film coated at 623 K was found to have better crystallinity with mixed cuprite and tenorite phases. Thus, substrate temperature was fixed at 623 K and films were prepared by increasing the molar concentration of cupric acetate to 0.1 M. Further the effect of annealing on the various properties of the CuO films was investigated. The XRD patterns of the annealed films at 523, 623 and 723 K for 6 h revealed the formation of copper oxide thin films with tenorite phase.