Effect of Synthesis Parameters on the Structural, Optical and Electrical Properties of Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR)-Deposited CuO Thin Films

In this work, CuO thin films were deposited by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method at room temperature. The synthesis parameters of the method were changed to examine the details of the production method. Our main goal was the optimization of the deposited CuO thin films in terms of their structural, optical and electrical properties depending on the pH (11, 11.2, and 11.4) and temperature (70, 80, and 90 degrees C) of hot water in the production cycle. XRD analysis showed that crystallite size increases with the increase in temperature of hot water in the production cycle. The crystallite size has also changed according to pH, but no linear increase or decrease was observed. SEM analysis showed that the change of structural parameters has considerably affected the morphology of the produced films. Optical bandgaps of the synthesized CuO thin films decreased with the increase in pH value and/or temperature of hot water in the production cycle and this behavior could be best attributed to the grain size enhancement. Moreover, all films showed a decrease in resistance with the increase in temperature of the hot water in the production cycle. On the other hand, the lowest resistances were achieved for CuO thin films produced at a pH of 11.2, beyond which resistances increased with the further increase in pH value.