Comparative study on the influence of transparent glass substrates for antimony telluride thin films via structural and optical properties

Abstract

Antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin films were deposited on to non-and conductive-glass substrates ‒ borosilicate (BRS), indium-doped tin oxide (ITO), and fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) using the doctor-blading technique as a white slurry precipitated from the solution during a chemical bath reaction. The study examines the influences of glass substrates on the structural and surface morphology of Sb2Te3 thin films. The calculated structural parameters indicated that different glass substrates impacted the properties of Sb2Te3 thin films. All optical parameters were investigated based on transmittance (T(λ)) and reflectance (R(λ)) spectra in the wavelength range of 300–1100 nm. The average energy band gap (Eg) was calculated from the indirect (Egind) and direct (Egdi) energy band gaps and was estimated to be 1.44, 1.68, and 1.53 eV for BRS/Sb2Te3, ITO/Sb2Te3, and FTO/Sb2Te3, respectively. Importantly, the highest values for the χ(1), χ(3), and n2 approximately of 0.0322, 1.92 × 10−16 esu., and 5.91 × 10−15 esu. respectively were achieved in the energy range from 2.0 to 3.5 eV for BRS/Sb2Te3. The highest βc of 86.31 cm/GW was obtained in the energy range from 1.23 to 1.65 eV. These results suggest the strong possibility of using the Sb2Te3 thin film on BRS glass in nonlinear optical devices for the UV-visible region, such as optical quantum electronics, optical limiting, fast optical switching, and high-speed communication devices. This demonstration will open a new strategy and novel approach for the design and experimental fabrication of this kind of material.

Keywords

• Antimony telluride
• Non and conductive-glass substrates
• Doctor-blading technique
• Thin film technology
• Nonlinear optical properties