Growth and characterization of molybdenum oxide thin films prepared by photochemical metal–organic deposition (PMOD)

Molybdenum oxide thin films have been successfully prepared by direct UV irradiation of amorphous films of a molybdenum dioxide acetylacetonate complex on Si(1 0 0) substrates. Photodeposited films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the surface morphology examined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). It was found that as-photodeposited films are uniform and smooth, with thickness of 350 nm, with rms surface roughness of 28 nm and contain non-stoichiometric oxides (MoO3−x). The results of XRD analysis showed that post-annealing of the films in air at 450 °C transforms the sub-oxides to α-MoO3 phase with a much rougher surface morphology (rms = 144 nm). The as-photodeposited MoO3−x films are amorphous, and exhibit better optical quality than annealed films.

Graphical abstractMolybdenum oxide thin films have been successfully prepared by direct UV irradiation of amorphous films of a molybdenum dioxide acetylacetonate complex on Si(1 0 0) substrates. Photodeposited films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the surface morphology examined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide