Effect of zirconia doping on the structural and morphology of cadmium oxide thin films deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis

Abstract

In this work, Cadmium oxide (CdO) and zirconia (ZrO₂) doped CdO thin films, were deposited on glass substrates for different ZrO₂ doping concentrations (x= 3, 5,7 and 9%) by spray pyrolysis technique, at a temperature of 450?, with (420+20 nm) of thickness. The prepared thin films were characterized by using X-ray diffraction(XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and field- emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) to study the structural properties. XRD analysis showed that all the films were polycrystalline with cubic structure with preferred orientation along (200) plane. In addition to. full width at half maximum (FWHM) increase, crystalline size decrease, and dislocation increase with ZrO₂ doping concentration increased. AFM analysis indicate a decrease in surface roughness, root mean square and grain size with increasing ZrO₂ doping concentration. FESEM images, they showed noticeable changes in the shape of the surfaces of the film and a decrease value of the crystalline size with an increase in ZrO₂ doping concentration, the clarity of the grain boundaries by increasing the doping rates. EDAX showed presence the elements that were used in the preparation of the films were clearly