Effects of deposition temperature on the surface roughness and the nonlinear optical susceptibility of sprayed deposited ZnO:Zr thin films

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 255; no. 22; pp. 9054 - 9057
• Main Authors: Bahedi, K., Addou, M., El Jouad, M., Bayoud, S., Sofiani, Z.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 30.08.2009; Elsevier
• Subjects: AFM; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Nonlinear optics; Physics; Spray pyrolysis; THG; Zirconium; ZnO; AFM; Zirconium; THG; ZnO; Spray pyrolysis; Nonlinear optics; Atomic force microscopy; Pyrolysis; Inorganic compounds; Transition element compounds; Roughness; Nonlinear optical susceptibility; Thin films; Transition elements; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2009.06.104

Zirconium doped zinc oxide thin films were deposited by reactive chemical pulverization spray pyrolysis technique on heated glass substrates at 400 °C, 450 °C and 500 °C using zinc and zirconium chlorides as precursors. The effect of zirconium dopant and surface roughness on the nonlinear optical properties was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and third harmonic generation (THG). The best value of susceptibility χ (3) was obtained from the doped films with less roughness. A strong third order nonlinear optical susceptibility χ (3) = 20.49 × 10 −12 (esu) of the studied films was found for the 5% doped sample at 450 °C.