Structural and optical characteristics of Ce, Nd, Gd, and Dy-doped Al2O3 thin films

We present the optical properties of rare earth (RE)-doped Al2O3 thin films and discuss their possible use in applications like gate dielectric material and in coating industry. Aluminum oxide films doped with RE elements such as Ce, Nd, Gd, and Dy are synthesized on glass substrate using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique at 400 degrees C. The concentration of rare earth element is varied from 0.5 to 5 mol% in 0.1Msolution of Al2O3. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the thin films deposited with and without rare earth doping have an amorphous structure. Further, the optical properties of RE-doped Al2O3 thin films are studied by using UV-visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurement. The band gap is found to be 4.06eV for Al2O3 thin film. A small blue shift is seen in the optical spectra of RE-doped samples as compared to undoped Al2O3 film. Dielectric constant of alumina thin film increases with doping of Gd and Dy while it decreases with Ce and Nd doping. Concentration quenching effects are observed in the photoluminescence spectra of Ce, Nd, Gd, and Dy-doped Al2O3 films. Among all these RE-doped Al2O3 thin films, Gd and Dy-doped Al2O3 films exhibit a potential for the construction of dielectric gate in transistors or as a coating material in the semiconductor industry.