Systematic investigation of the effect of immersion cycle number on electronic, structural, morphological and optical properties of Cu2O thin films deposited by SILAR method

Cevlik H. C., Yilmaz O., Urfan N., Erken O., Gunes M., Miyazaki H., ...Daha Fazla

OPTICAL MATERIALS, cilt.179, ss.118320-118332, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 179
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.optmat.2026.118320
  • Dergi Adı: OPTICAL MATERIALS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Applied Science & Technology Source, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Engineering Source (EBSCO), Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Chimica, Compendex, INSPEC
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.118320-118332
  • Çukurova Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study reports the successful deposition of phase-pure copper (I) oxide Cu2O thin films on glass substrates via

the Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) method at a constant temperature of 70 ◦C. The

influence of the number of immersion cycles (10, 20, and 40) on the electronic, structural, morphological, and

optical properties of the films was systematically investigated. A combined X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

(XPS) and theoretical Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) approach was employed to correlate

surface chemistry with bulk atomic structure. Results confirmed phase-pure Cu2O with a dominant

Cu + oxidation state, and revealed how deposition parameters modulate local bonding, disorder, and stoichiometry.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses showed that the films crystallized in a cubic, polycrystalline phase and

exhibited improved crystallinity at higher cycle numbers. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM)

images demonstrated that increasing the number of cycles produced denser, more homogeneous morphologies.

Optical measurements indicated a clear reduction in band gap energy with increasing number of immersion

cycles: 2.45 eV (10 cycles), 2.08 eV (20 cycles), and 1.88 eV (40 cycles). These findings highlight the direct

relationship between immersion cycle number, film thickness, and optoelectronic properties, confirming that the

SILAR method enables reliable and tunable control of Cu2O thin film characteristics.