Optical and magnetic properties of PbS thin films doped with Fe2+ ions

PbS and Fe-doped PbS thin films were deposited on glass substrates by spray technique using perfume atomizer. Fe concentration is varied as 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 wt.% and the effect of Fe doping concentration on the structural, morphological, optical, photoluminescence and magnetic properties of the PbS thin films are studied and the results obtained are discussed in this paper. Structural studies show that all the films have face-centered cubic crystal structure with a strong (2 0 0) preferential orientation. Crystallite size estimated from the Scherrer formula decreased from 55.73 nm to 31.97 nm with Fe doping. Elemental analysis confirmed that the undoped and doped PbS thin films are deficient with sulfur and the presence of emission peak at 485 nm in the photoluminescence spectra strongly supports this. Optical band gap is blue shifted with Fe doping. Improved magnetic properties were observed for the doped PbS thin films. The obtained results infer that Fe2+ ions strongly enhanced the optical and magnetic properties of pure PbS thin films.