Investigating the properties of n-type Nb₂O₅ thin film semiconductor under pulsed laser deposition: number of laser pulses impact

The aims of this work are to investigate the impact of Nb₂O₅ Nanofilm thickness on the Physical, and electrical properties. Q-switched Nd: YAG laser with the fundamental wavelength (λ = 1064 nm) was employed for Nanofilms preparation. The X-Ray diffraction XRD results revealed that orthorhombic (T-Nb₂O₅) and monoclinic (H-Nb₂O₅) structures were obtained. The UV–Visible spectrophotometer showed a decrease in the films’ transmissions as Nb₂O₅ thickness was increased. The estimated optical band gap reduced from 3 to 2.9 eV with increasing the film’s thickness. The photoluminescence (PL) analyses revealed fewer defective films as the thickness increased. The morphological graphs described by field emission scanning electron microscope FE-SEM showed well-defined and homogeneous Nb₂O₅ thin films except for the film prepared by 500 laser shots. Furthermore, Energy dispersive X-Ray EDX analyses revealed a high purity of films’ compositions. The electrical conductivity increased as the film’s thickness increased. The results confirmed that these nanofilms could be invested in optoelectronic applications.