Impact of Ar Flow Rates on Micro-Structural Properties of WS2 Thin Film by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Nanomaterials

Ghulam Muhammad¹  Mohammad Aminul Islam²  Md. Shahiduzzaman³  Nowshad Amin⁴  Md. Akhtaruzzaman⁵  Khan Sobayel Bin Rafiq⁵  Kamaruzzaman Sopian⁵ 

[1] Department of Computer Engineering, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia;Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Malaya, Jalan Universiti, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa 920-1292, Japan;Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (@The National Energy University), Jalan Ikram-Uniten, Kajang 43000, Malaysia;Solar Energy Research Institute, The National University of Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Malaysia;

关键词: tungsten disulfide (WS₂);    thin film;    radio frequency magnetron sputtering;    gas flow rate;    defect engineering;   

DOI  :  10.3390/nano11071635

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Tungsten disulfide (WS₂) thin films were deposited on soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering at different Ar flow rates (3 to 7 sccm). The effect of Ar flow rates on the structural, morphology, and electrical properties of the WS₂ thin films was investigated thoroughly. Structural analysis exhibited that all the as-grown films showed the highest peak at (101) plane corresponds to rhombohedral phase. The crystalline size of the film ranged from 11.2 to 35.6 nm, while dislocation density ranged from 7.8 × 10¹⁴ to 26.29 × 10¹⁵ lines/m². All these findings indicate that as-grown WS₂ films are induced with various degrees of defects, which were visible in the FESEM images. FESEM images also identified the distorted crystallographic structure for all the films except the film deposited at 5 sccm of Ar gas flow rate. EDX analysis found that all the films were having a sulfur deficit and suggested that WS₂ thin film bears edge defects in its structure. Further, electrical analysis confirms that tailoring of structural defects in WS₂ thin film can be possible by the varying Ar gas flow rates. All these findings articulate that Ar gas flow rate is one of the important process parameters in RF magnetron sputtering that could affect the morphology, electrical properties, and structural properties of WS₂ thin film. Finally, the simulation study validates the experimental results and encourages the use of WS₂ as a buffer layer of CdTe-based solar cells.

【 授权许可】

Unknown