Optical properties and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analysis of Al- or Co-doped CuO thin films prepared on glass by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering

• Published in: Thin solid films 2021-03, Vol.722, p.138572, Article 138572
• Main Authors: Wu, Jiasen, Gao, Qing, Wei, Gongxiang, Xiu, Junshan, Li, Zhao, Liu, Huiqiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Copper oxide thin film; Glass; Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy; Optical properties
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2021.138572

•Rapid analysis of the CuO films achieved by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS).•The depth ablated by single laser pulse was assessed as nearly 48±7 nm.•The LIBS analysis can be employed to assess the optical properties of CuO thin films.•LIBS provides a powerful method for rapid determination of CuO thin films. Glasses coated with a variety of thin films are extensively used. In the present study, copper oxide (CuO) thin films doped with aluminum (Al) or cobalt (Co) were prepared on the surface of soda lime glass substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering deposition. The variation of the sputtering time resulted in the alteration of the composition of the films that caused changes in their optical properties as observed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and optical transmission spectroscopy, respectively. In addition, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy analysis (LIBS) was used to achieve rapid qualitative and quantitative analyses of the doping elements in the CuO thin films. The elemental emission intensity ratios of Al/Cu in CuO-Al thin films and Co/Cu in CuO-Co thin films obtained by LIBS was employed to assess the optical properties of the coated glass samples. Overall, the results revealed that the LIBS technique allows to efficiently determine the elemental composition of doped CuO thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering and to simultaneously assess the corresponding optical properties of thin films.