Department of Physics

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    Microstructural characteristics and phonon structures in luminescence from surface oxidized Ge nanocrystals embedded in matrix
    (AIP, 2010-09) Gangopadhyay, Subhashis
    Ge nanocrystals embedded in matrices were prepared by rf magnetron sputtering technique. Transmission electron micrographs reveal the formation of spherical shape Ge nanocrystals of 4–6 nm diameters for and 6–9 nm for annealed samples. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the formation of surface oxidized Ge nanocrystals. Embedded Ge nanocrystals show strong photoluminescence peaks in visible and ultraviolet region even at room temperature. Spectral analysis suggests that emission in 1.58 and 3.18 eV bands originate from ⁠, and optical transitions in GeO color centers, respectively, and those in the range 2.0–3.0 eV are related to Ge/O defects at the interface of the oxidized nanocrystals. Temperature dependent photoluminescence study has revealed additional fine structures with lowering of temperature, the origin of which is attributed to the strong coupling of electronic excitations with local vibration of germanium oxides at the surface.
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    Growth and characterization of single phase Cu2O by thermal oxidation of thin copper films
    (AIP, 2016-04) Gangopadhyay, Subhashis
    We report a simple and efficient technique to form high quality single phase cuprous oxide films on glass substrate using thermal evaporation of thin copper films followed by controlled thermal oxidation in air ambient. Crystallographic analysis and oxide phase determination, as well as grain size distribution have been studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) method, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been utilized to investigate the surface morphology of the as grown oxide films. The formation of various copper oxide phases is found to be highly sensitive to the oxidation temperature and a crystalline, single phase cuprous oxide film can be achieved for oxidation temperatures between 250°C to 320°C. Cu2O film surface appeared in a faceted morphology in SEM imaging and a direct band gap of about 2.1 eV has been observed in UV-visible spectroscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed a single oxide phase formation. Finally, a growth mechanism of the oxide film has also been discussed.
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    Oxidation mechanism of thin Cu films: A gateway towards the formation of single oxide phase
    (AIP, 2018) Gangopadhyay, Subhashis; Pande, Surojit
    Controlled thermal oxidations of thin copper films at relatively lower temperatures (up to 500°C) leading towards the formation of a single phase of copper oxide are investigated where the oxidation temperature, duration, oxygen partial pressure, film thickness and the crystallographic orientations play very crucial roles to significantly control the final phase of the copper oxide. Thin Cu films of thicknesses 100-1000 nm were deposited on glass and silicon substrates using the vacuum assisted thermal evaporation technique. Oxidations of those Cu films were performed at different temperatures for variable durations in air ambient as well as oxygen ambient conditions. Four probe resistivity measurement, x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) techniques have been used to characterize the oxide films. At a thermodynamic equilibrium, it has been observed that the oxide phase is solely determined by the oxidation temperature, however, the oxygen partial pressure can significantly alter this temperature range. In case of thermal oxidation in air, the initial oxidation of the copper films starts at about 150 °C, but a well ordered crystalline phase of the cuprous oxide (Cu2O) is observed only above 200 °C. However, the cupric oxide (CuO) phase starts to appear only above 320 °C. The details of the oxidation mechanism of the Cu film are explained with a probable schematic model in terms of thermal diffusion as well as the chemical reactivity.