Abstract
Copper oxide thin films have prepared by sputtering technique. Silicon intercalated copper oxide thin films as a dopant with a ratio ranged from 2.1 to 6.2 at%. The thickness of the prepared films decreased as Si dopant increase from 153 nm for the base CuO films to 54 nm for the 6.2 at% Si containing samples. Copper atoms are presented in divalent states, whereas silicon dopant existed as a major Si–O and minor metallic Si states. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) proved the chemical state of CuO, while the X-ray diffraction (XRD) approved the monoclinic crystal structure. The average crystallite size values decreased as the Si content increase from 164 to 124 Å. The surface morphology and roughness were examined by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The existence of Si content in CuO lattice improved the morphology by reducing the grain size and surface roughness. The optical properties of studied films showed the dependence of optical band gap and static refractive index on the Si content. With the increase in Si content, the optical transition decreased from 2.18 to 1.88 eV. Moreover, the optical dispersion parameters were determined and discussed in terms of Wemple-DiDomenico model. The films are suggested to use as transparent semiconducting materials.