Characteristics of CuCr1-xMgxO2 films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

High-quality c-axis oriented CuCr1-xMgxO2 (0 <= x <= 0.05) thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The Mg-doped CuCrO2 films can be obtained at lower substrate temperature compared to the pure CuCrO2 film. The growing rates of CuCr1-xMgxO2 films deposited with different pulse energy densities are different; the different pulse energy densities result in different grain sizes on the surface of these CuCr1-xMgxO2 films. The CuCr1-xMgxO2 films with high transmittance for certain wavelength can be obtained by controlling the thicknesses of CuCr1-xMgxO2 films. The maximal transmittance of CuCr1-xMgxO2 films can reach 75% in the visible region. Optical transmission data of CuCr1-xMgxO2 films indicate a direct band gap of 3.2 eV. All the films behave as semiconductors. Upon doping with 5% Mg, the resistivity of CuCrO2 films decreases from 67 to 0.025 Omega cm. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.