Characterization of a fast grown GaAs:Sn thin film by thermionic vacuum arc

Abstract

In this research, a tin doped gallium arsenide thin film was grown on a glass substrate by means of the TVA technique in a very short period of time (70 s) and it’s morphological, compositional, and optical properties were examined. The deposited GaAs:Sn structures were characterized via both atomic force microscope (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). In this context, current research aims to reach a conclusion about the structure of the produced GaAs:Sn film by combining AFM, FESEM and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy data. From the optical investigation, the refractive index and extinction coefficient values for the produced film were obtained as 3.68 and 0.03 at the wavelength of 632.8 nm, respectively. The direct optical band gap energy of the deposited thin film was determined by two different models. Estimated optical band gap values were compared with each other. The results showed that TVA technique is suitable for a GaAs:Sn coating on glass substrate. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.