Studies on sprayed lanthanum sulphide (La2S3) thin films from non-aqueous medium

Thin films of lanthanum sulphide (La2S3) have been deposited onto glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique from non-aqueous (methanol) medium. The structural, morphological, optical, dielectric, electric and thermoemf properties were studied. The films were polycrystalline with an irregular shaped particles present over the porous structure within a fibrous network structure. The optical band gap was estimated to be 2.50 eV. The dielectric properties were measured in the range 100 Hz-1 MHz. The electrical resistivity was of the order of 104 to 105 Ω cm. Thermoemf study revealed that the La2S3 films exhibit p-type electrical conductivity.