Photoluminescence of reactively sputtered Ag2O films

Ag2O thin films were deposited on glass substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering of a silver target in a reactive Ar-O2 mixture. Spectrophotometry results suggest a direct band gap of 3.32 eV. Photoluminescence measurements reveal optical instability and thermal quenching of the luminescence intensity. Electrical characterization by 4-point probe and Hall effect measurements showed that the films are insulators.