Development of enduring interstitial defects in Mg-doped CuO thin films

Doping is one of the easiest methods to enhance the properties of semiconducting thin films. This work presents a systematic study of the influence of Mg doping on the optoelectronic properties of copper oxide (CuO) thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis. The pristine and doped films were prepared on glass substrates at an optimized temperature of 350 degrees C and a precursor solution concentration of 0.15 M while the Mg doping concentration was varied between 2 and 10 at%. The properties of the prepared films were studied in detail by using various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, Raman and photoluminescence, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Hall measurement. The results suggest that oxygen interstitial (Oi) defects were enhanced upon doping which has influenced the properties of the film. The size of the crystallites reduced, and the band gap widened after doping. In addition, comprehensive density functional theory analyses have been conducted to gain a thorough understanding of the impact of impurity (i.e., doping/interstitial) atoms on the optical and electrical characteristics of CuO. This study shows that Oi defects improved the conductivity and enhanced the carrier concentration leading to an improvement in the electrical properties of the films. Magnesium doping in spray deposited copper oxide thin films enhanced the stable oxygen interstitial defects. It improved the electrical properties while sustaining the favourable optical properties that suit solar cell absorber layer applications.