Effect of deposition temperature on structural, surface, optical and magnetic properties of pulsed laser deposited Al-doped CdO thin films

The objective of this work is to study the influence of deposition temperature on structural, surface, optical and magnetic properties of the Al doped CdO thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. KrF excimer laser (λ = 248 nm, τl = 20 ns, ν = 10 Hz, ϕl = 2.5 J/cm2) was employed for the deposition of thin films. It is observed by XRD results that films grown at room temperature and 100 °C show preferential growth along (1 1 1) and (2 0 0) directions while high temperatures (200–400 °C) lead to preferential growth along the (2 0 0) direction only. The optical constants (n, k, α, and optical band gap energy) of films measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry show strong dependence upon deposition temperature. M–H loop of films, measured by vibrating sample magnetometer, deposited at 25 °C and 100 °C show paramagnetic nature while films deposited at temperatures (200–400 °C) exhibit ferromagnetic character. Scanning electron micrographs show degraded elongated grains at lower deposition temperatures, while smooth and compact surface is observed for films deposited at higher deposition temperatures.

► Novel studies on effect of deposition temperature on structural, surface, optical and magnetic properties have been presented in this article.
► At higher substrate temperatures, single crystal like growth is observed along with smooth surface profile.
► Optical properties are considerably modified.
► At higher substrate temperatures, films show ferromagnetic character.