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N-doped titania nano sheets and N-doped titania/tungsten dioxide nano rods were synthesized by two step hydrothermal method. The composition, structural, functional, morphological and optical properties of the as synthesized N-TiO₂/WS₂ hybrids were characterized by XRD, UV-DRS, PL, FE-SEM with EDAX, TEM, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy. Surface area and thermal stability of the catalysts were analyzed by BET and TG/DTA techniques. The photocatalytic activity of the heterojunction catalyst was evaluated towards the decomposition of a harmful dye namely congo red in an aqueous solution under visible light irradiation. The results show superior photocatalytic activity for N-TiO₂/WS₂ nanocomposite. This unusual photocatalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effect between WS₂ and N-TiO₂.

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Present work is focused on the improvement of gas sensing and opto-electronic properties of cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films deposited by chemical spray pyrolysis technique, with different cobalt (Co) dopant concentrations in the final spray solution. The XRD patterns reveal that the preferential growth is shifted between (111) and (200) depending on the Co- doping concentrations. The Cd-O bond vibrations were confirmed by micro-Raman analysis. The oxidization state of metal elements was determined by XPS analysis. The FE-SEM analysis revealed the variation in surface microstructure due to the variation in Co- doping concentration in CdO thin films. The elemental composition of deposited films was estimated using EDS. The formaldehyde gas response of 0.50 wt% Co- doped CdO thin film was 23%. The electrical properties were estimated by Hall measurements in van der Pauw configuration. The 0.50 wt% Co- doped CdO thin film showed a maximum carrier mobility of about 87 cm 2 /Vs and a photocurrent of 2.50 nA at 42 V. The Co- doped CdO thin films showed a high optical transmittance of about 84% in the range of 600–1100 nm. The band gap varies between 2.38 eV and 2.50 eV. The estimated high figure of merit is 4.79 × 10 −3 Ω −1 for 0.50 wt% of Co- doped CdO film.

The ruthenium (Ru) doped CdO thin films were deposited by spray pyrolysis method on glass substrate, with various Ru concentrations (0.1, 0.125, 0.150, 0.175 and 0.2 wt%). The effect of Ru doping concentration on the electrical, optical, structural, microstructural and gas sensing properties was studied by Hall measurement, UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, micro-Raman and chemi-resistivity method. The results obtained show that the carrier mobility, visible-NIR transparency, surface morphology and gas response are effectively tuned by varying Ru doping concentration. The 0.1 wt% Ru doped CdO thin film shows relatively high optical band gap (2.32 eV) and maximum transmittance (70%) in the range between 600 and 900 nm. The high electrical properties (mobility 110 cm2/V⋅s and carrier concentration 1.77 × 1020 cm−3) are obtained for 0.150 wt% Ru doped CdO thin film. The high formaldehyde gas sensitivity (35%), fast response and recovery time are observed for 0.150 wt% Ru doped CdO thin film.

Solution based chemical spray pyrolysis technique was employed to deposit lanthanum (La) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films on soda-lime microscope glass slides. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that deposited films are polycrystalline having cubic crystal system. The undoped and 0.25 wt % La doped CdO films show relatively intense (111) plane, which is shifted to (200) plane for doping concentrations greater than 0.50 wt %. The parameters such as lattice constants, crystallite size, micro-strain, dislocation density and texture coefficient are extracted from XRD data. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis confirmed the smooth and uniform surface. Energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis was used to estimate the preliminary information on elemental composition. The deposited undoped and La doped films possess optical transmittance ranging 78–82% in the visible and near infrared (NIR) region. The estimated direct optical band gap of undoped and La doped CdO thin films is varied between 2.38 eV and 2.46 eV. Hall measurements confirmed the n-type conductivity in the films. The doping-modulated mobility and carrier concentration are ranging 68 cm2/V s–78 cm2/V s, and 1.0 × 1020 cm−3–4.06 × 1020 cm−3, respectively. Room temperature micro-Raman studies confirmed the metal oxide (Cd O) bond vibrations in deposited films. A high figure of merit (11.45 × 10−3 Ω−1) is obtained from 1.0 wt % La doped CdO film.

Praseodymium (Pr) doped CdO thin films with high transparency and high mobility were deposited, using a homemade spray pyrolysis setup, on micro-slide glass substrates preheated at 300 °C. Polycrystalline nature and Cd-O bond vibration of deposited films were confirmed by X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. The oxidation state of Cd2+, O2−, and Pr3+ was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis. The highest average particle size (92 nm-FESEM) and high RMS (13.48 nm-AFM) values are obtained for 0.50 wt% Pr doped CdO thin film. The optical band gap is varied between 2.38 eV and 2.52 eV, depending on the Pr doping concentration. Photoluminescence spectra revealed that Pr doped CdO thin film exhibits strong green emission at 582 nm. High mobility (82 cm2/V s), high charge carrier concentration (2.19×1020 cm−3) and high transmittance (83%) were observed for 0.50 wt% Pr doped CdO film. A high figure of merit (9.79×10−3 Ω−1) was obtained for 0.50 wt% Pr doped CdO thin films. The mechanism behind the above results is discussed in detail in this paper.

Direct electron transfer with redox proteins, in third generation biosensors, is already proved to be favored on electrodes modified with nanoparticles. In this work, different crystallographic and morphologic structures of tungsten oxide (WO3) nanoparticles are modified by hydrothermal synthesis at 180 °C. The electrochemical properties of WO3 nanoparticles deposit on ITO electrodes are investigated and the analytical performance of the nitrite biosensor is presented as proof of concept. Despite the inherent features of each nanostructure, the heterogeneous electron transfer with the WO3 nanoparticles modified electrodes is thoroughly improved and, very importantly, the cytochrome c nitrite reductase (ccNiR) enzyme is able to keep its biological function. When compared with bare commercial ITO electrodes, the exchange rate constant of WO3/ITO electrodes with cytochrome c increased one order of magnitude, while the analytical parameters of the ccNiR/WO3/ITO electrodes response to nitrite (the Michaelis–Menten constant is 47 μM and sensitivity of 2143 mA M −1 cm−2) are comparable to those reported for carbon based electrodes. Therefore, these metal oxide nanoparticles are good alternative materials for electrochemical applications, such as non-mediated biosensors.

MTiO₃ (M = Sr, Ca, Ba and Pb) catalysts were synthesized by polymeric precursor method and characterized by using various instrumental techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TiO₂ were also synthesized by sol-gel method and used for the optimization of reaction parameters such as catalyst weight, dye concentration and pH in the photocatalytic degradation of reactive dyes such as reactive blue 198 (RB 198), reactive black 5 (RB 5) and reactive yellow 145 (RY 145) under UV irradiation. MTiO₃ (M = Sr, Ca, Ba and Pb) catalysts were evaluated towards the photocatalytic decolourization of RB 198, RB 5 and RY 145 under optimized reaction conditions. Among the different metal titanates, strontium titanate showed the highest decolourization (≈90%) of all the three reactive dyes under UV irradiation at 120 minutes and also found to be active under visible irradiation as it decolourises the dyes in about 450 minutes. The degradation rate of strontium titanate was monitored by TOC analyzer. Kinetic studies of the photocatalytic degradation of reactive dyes confirmed that the reaction followed the pseudo first order kinetics.

In the present work, a spray pyrolysis technique was employed to deposit cerium (Ce) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films with low level doping concentrations (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.0 wt%). The crystallite size and lattice parameter values were estimated from X-ray diffraction analysis. X-ray diffraction patterns reveal the shift of preferential growth orientation from (111) to (200) planes on incorporating Ce in the CdO matrix. The oxidation state of Ce, Cd and O in the deposited films was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) studies. Surface microstructures of the films were analyzed by atomic force microscopy and their surface nature was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The electrical properties of the deposited films were determined by Hall measurements in the van der Pauw configuration. The charge carrier concentration of the CdO thin film increased from 1.0 × 1020 cm−3 to 3.85 × 1020 cm−3 on doping 0.50 wt% Ce; whereas, resistivity decreased from 9.32 × 10−4 Ω cm to 3.81 × 10−4 Ω cm. The deposited Ce-doped CdO thin films for various concentrations showed an increase in the average optical transmittance to 85% from that of 72% for the CdO film in the visible and NIR region. The band gap was gradually increased from 2.38 eV to 2.63 eV due to an increase in the Ce doping at various levels. The emission properties of CdO and Ce doped CdO thin films were studied by a photoluminescence spectrum recorded at room temperature. The figure of merit estimated for 0.50 wt% of Ce doped CdO film is 9.18 × 10−3 Ω−1.

Thin films of Zn 1− x Nd x O were deposited by spray pyrolysis on Si(111) substrates preheated at 400 °C temperature and were studied as a function of neodymium (Nd)-doping concentration. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed that the deposited films possess hexagonal wurtzite ZnO structure. Further, it is observed that the doped films show a preferential orientation along the c -axis (0 0 2), which is perpendicular to the substrate. The un-doped films seem to be having a bit low-crystallinity, which is corroborated by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis that showed nano-crystalline like features. Further, SEM analysis showed that the Nd doping triggers the formation bubble-like structure on top of the nano-crystalline structure. The SEM microstructures are interpreted with the Micro-Raman studies. Photoluminescence (PL) and XRD characterizations indicate that above 5 at.% doping concentrations, the Nd atoms preferentially agglomerate in the large islands.

Doped metal oxide semiconductors have received greater attention for the development of gas sensor, working at low temperature, as well as of optoelectronics. In this work, a post transition metal ion of bismuth (Bi) doped cadmium oxide (CdO) thin films were deposited by a cost-effective pyrolytic spray process at substrate temperature of 300 °C. The effects of Bi-doping concentrations on the microstructural, gas sensing and optoelectronic properties of CdO thin films are systematically studied. The CdO film doped with 0.75 wt% of Bi exhibits high response (86.20%) to formaldehyde at a low operating temperature of 130 °C with satisfactory stability, selectivity and anti-interference to humidity. The response mechanism to formaldehyde is discussed in details. Optical results indicate that an improved transmittance above 80% in visible and NIR region was observed for all the Bi-doped CdO thin films with an enhanced optical band gap, in comparison with undoped CdO. Photoluminescence study indicates the presence of optical defects such as neutral donors and deep centers in CdO thin films. The high figure of merit value (4.56 × 10−3 Ω-1) obtained from 0.50 wt% of Bi-doped CdO is superior to the previously reported. The improved carrier mobility (78 cm2/V⋅s) is obtained from 0.25 wt% of Bi-doped CdO thin film. The present investigation indicated that the Bi-doped CdO thin films would be an attractive candidate for formaldehyde gas sensing and optoelectronic applications.

a b s t r a c t This work reports the structural, optical, electrical and thermoelectric properties of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) thin films deposited at room temperature by thermal evaporation on Corning glass substrates. A post-deposition thermal treatment up to 973 K under atmospheric conditions induces the crystallization of the as-deposited amorphous films with an orthorhombic V2O5 phase with grain sizes around 26 nm. As the annealing temperature rises up to 773 K the electrical conductivity increases. The films exhibit thermoelectric properties with a maximum Seebeck coefficient of −218 V/K and electrical conductivity of 5.5 (� m)−1. All the films show NIR-Vis optical transmittance above 60% and optical band gap of 2.8 eV.

In this work, we report results concerning the performances of thin-film transistors (TFTs) where the channel layer is based on microcrystalline zinc tin oxide (ZTO) processed by spray pyrolysis technique. TFTs made with ~30 nm thick ZTO channel layer deposited at a substrate temperature of 400°C and 300°C exhibited, respectively, a saturation mobility of ~2.9 cm2·V-1·s-1 and 1.45 cm2·V-1·s-1; VON voltage of ~0.15 V, and 0.2 V; a sub-threshold swing of ~400 mV/dec and 500 mV/dec; ON/OFF ratio at the onset of hard saturation current of ~3.5×105 and 6×103, for a drain to source voltage of 10 V (close to or below the gate to source voltage). This indicates that the substrate temperature is relevant in determining the devices' electronic performances.

The effect of substrate temperature (Ts) on the properties of pyrolytically deposited nitrogen (N) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films was investigated. The Ts was varied from 300 °C to 500 °C, with a step of 50 °C. The positive sign of Hall coefficient confirmed the p-type conductivity in the films deposited at 450 °C and 500 °C. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the ZnO structure with a dominant peak from (1 0 0) crystal plane, irrespective of the variation in Ts. The presence of N in the ZnO structure was evidenced through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The obtained high N concentration reveals that the 450 °C is the optimal Ts. Atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis showed that the surface roughness was increased with the increasing Ts until 400 °C but then decreased. It is found that the transmittance of the deposited films is increased with the increasing Ts. The optical band gap calculated from the absorption edge showed that the films deposited with Ts of 300 °C and 350 °C possess higher values than those deposited at higher Ts.

Molybdenum (0.5 at%) doped indium oxide thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique wereirradiated by 100 MeV O 7þ ions with different fluences of 5 10 11 ,1 12 and 1 10 13 ions/cm 2 .Intensity of (222) peak of the pristine film was decreased with increase in the ion fluence. Filmsirradiated with the maximum ion fluence of 1 1310 ions/cm 2 showed a fraction of amorphous nature.The surface microstructures on the surface of the film showed that increase in ion fluence decreases thegrain size. Mobility of the pristine molybdenum doped indium oxide films was decreased from 122 to48 cm 2 /V s with increasing ion fluence. Among the irradiated films the film irradiated with the ionfluence of 5 1110 ions/cm 2 showed relatively low resistivity of 6.7 10 4 O cm with the mobility of75 cm 2 /V s. The average transmittance of the as-deposited IMO film is decreased from 89% to 81% dueto irradiation with the fluence of 5 1110 ions/cm 2 .& 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. IntroductionTransparent conducting oxides (TCOs) constitute an unusualclass of materials possessing two physical properties such as highoptical transparency (T) and high electrical conductivity (

Thin-films of copper oxide (CuxO) were sputtered from a metallic copper (Cu) target and studied as a function of oxygen partial pressure (OPP). A metallic Cu film with cubic structure obtained from 0% OPP has been transformed to cubic Cu2O phase for the increase in OPP to 9% but then changed to monoclinic CuO phase (for OPP ≥ 25%). The variation in crystallite size (calculated from x-ray diffraction data) was further substantiated by the variation in grain size (surface microstructures). The CuxO films produced with OPP ranging between 9% and 75% showed p-type behavior, which were successfully applied to produce thin-film transistors.

Indium oxide thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis were irradiated by 100 MeV O7+ ions with different fluences of 5 × 1011, 1 × 1012 and 1 × 1013 ions/cm2. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the structure of indium oxide with cubic bixbyite. The strongest (2 2 2) orientation observed from the as-deposited films was shifted to (4 0 0) after irradiation. Furthermore, the intensity of the (4 0 0) orientation was decreased with increasing fluence together with an increase in (2 2 2) intensity. Films irradiated with maximum fluence exhibited an amorphous component. The mobility of the as-deposited indium oxide films was decreased from ∼78.9 to 43.0 cm2/V s, following irradiation. Films irradiated with a fluence of 5 × 1011 ions/cm2 showed a better combination of electrical properties, with a resistivity of 4.57 × 10−3 Ω cm, carrier concentration of 2.2 × 1019 cm−3 and mobility of 61.0 cm2/V s. The average transmittance obtained from the as-deposited films decreased from ∼81% to 72%, when irradiated with a fluence of 5 × 1011 ions/cm2. The surface microstructures confirmed that the irregularly shaped grains seen on the surface of the as-deposited films is modified as “radish-like” morphology when irradiated with a fluence of 5 × 1011 ions/cm2.

N-doped ZnO films were radio frequency (RF) sputtered on glass substrates and studied as a function of oxygen partial pressure (OPP) ranging from 3.0×10 −4 to 9.5×10 −3 Pa. X-ray diffraction patters confirmed the polycrystalline nature of the deposited films. The crystalline structure is influenced by the variation of OPP. Atomic force microscopy analysis confirmed the agglomeration of the neighboring spherical grains with a sharp increase of root mean square (RMS) roughness when the OPP is increased above 1.4×10 −3 Pa. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis revealed that the incorporation of N content into the film is decreased with the increase of OPP, noticeably N 1s XPS peaks are hardly identified at 9.5×10 −3 Pa. The average visible transmittance (380-700 nm) is increased with the increase of OPP (from ∼17% to 70%), and the optical absorption edge shifts towards the shorter wavelength. The films deposited with low OPP (≤ 3.0×10 −4 Pa) show n-type conductivity and those deposited with high OPP (≥ 9.0×10 −4 Pa) are highly resistive (>10 5 Ω·cm)

Molybdenum doped indium oxide (IO) thin films were deposited on the Coring F1737 glass substrates at 400 °C by spray pyrolysis technique. The Mo doping was varied between 0 and 4 at.%. The films were characterized by their structural, electrical and optical properties. The films are confirmed to be cubic bixbyite In 2 O 3 with a strongest orientation along (222) for 0.5 at.% Mo, which is shifted to (400) plane when the Mo doping is increased to ≥ 1.2 at. %. The films deposited with 0.5 at.% Mo showed high mobility of ~90 cm 2 /Vs, resistivity of ~6.8 x 10 -4 Ω cm and carrier concentration of ~1.01 × 10 20 cm -1 with > ~73% transmittance in the visible range between 500 and 800 nm. The transmittance is well extended into near infrared region.

High visible to near infrared (NIR) transparent Mo (0–1 at%) doped In2O3 (IMO) thin films with high carrier mobility were deposited on Corning-1737 glass substrates at 400 °C by spray pyrolysis experimental technique. The films were annealed in vacuum (∼1×10−4 mbar) at 550 °C for 45 min. XRD analysis confirmed that indium oxide belongs to cubic bixbyite structure. The preferred growth orientation along (2 2 2) plane for low Mo doping level shifts to (4 0 0) for higher Mo doping levels. Crystallite sizes extracted from the XRD data corroborate the changes in full-width at half-maximum due to the variation in Mo doping. Scanning electron microscopy study illustrates the evolution in surface microstructures as a function of Mo doping. The negative sign of Hall coefficient confirmed n-type conductivity. Films with high mobility of ∼149 cm2/(V s), carrier concentration of ∼1.0×1020 cm−3, resistivity of ∼4.0×10−4 Ω cm and high figure of merit of ∼1.02×10−2 Ω−1 were observed for post-annealed films (0.5 at% Mo). The obtained high average transparency of ∼83% in the wavelength range 400–2500 nm confirms that transmittance is well extended into the NIR region.

Copper oxide thin films were obtained by annealing (temperature ranging between 100 and 450 °C) the metallic Cu films deposited on glass substrates by e-beam evaporation. XRD studies confirmed that the cubic Cu phase of the as-deposited films changes into single cubic Cu 2 O phase and single monoclinic CuO phase, depending on the annealing conditions. The crystallite size is varied between ~ 12 and 31 nm. The lattice parameters of cubic Cu and Cu 2 O phases are estimated to ~3.60 and ~4.26 A, respectively. The films with Cu 2 O phase showed p-type characteristics. The conductivity is decreased linearly with the decreasing temperature (1/T), which has confirmed the semiconductor nature of the deposited films. The calculated activation energy is varied between 0.10 and 0.16 eV The surface microstructure is changed depending on the variation in the annealing temperature. The poor transmittance of the asdeposited films (

Indium molybdenum oxide thin films were deposited using different radio-frequency sputtering units on glass substrates at room temperature from an In 2 O 3 (95 wt.%): Mo (5 wt.%) target. The film thickness ranges between 160 and 275 nm. The chamber volume of Unit-1 was ~2.4 times larger than that of Unit-2. Apart from the chamber volume, a significant difference between the two units was the sputtering pressure. The films were characterized by their structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties. A strong reflection from (222) plane was obtained for the ~275 nm thick films deposited in Unit-1. The films deposited with

Magnesium matrix composites reinforced with SiO2 coated carbon fibers have been investigated, with an emphasis given on the relation between the material strength and interfacial microstructure. The composites were studied as a function of aluminium (Al) content that is varied between 0 and 9 wt%. The obtained results indicate that the reactivity at the C/Mg–Al interface of the composite can be controlled by varying the Al content. The low Al content in C/Mg–1Al has been completely dissolved in the matrix with no segregation even after solidification, leading to the best mechanical performance. If the Al content is increased to ≥3 wt% (composites such as C/AZ31 and C/AZ91), the SiO2 coatings are fully depleted due to an extensive formation of carbides at the interface. The precipitates are further identified as Al2MgC2 phase that is similar to binary carbide Al4C3. SiO2 coating on the fiber layer prior to fabrication of composite is found to be a promising way to suppress the carbide formation and enable the use of Mg–Al matrix with appropriate Al content.

Indium molybdenum oxide (IMO) thin films were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on glass substrates at room temperature. The deposition and argon partial pressures were maintained at 6.0 × 10−1 Pa and 3.0 × 10−1 Pa, respectively. The oxygen partial pressure (OPP) was varied in the range 1.0–6.0 × 10−3 Pa. The films were sputtered at 40 W for 30 min using the target consisted In2O3 (98 wt%): Mo (2 wt%). The films are polycrystalline with a slight preferential orientation along (2 2 2) plane. The crystallinity is increased with the increasing OPP. The negative sign of Hall coefficient confirmed the n-type conductivity. A maximum mobility ∼19 cm2 V−1 s−1 is obtained for the films deposited with OPP of 3.6 × 10−3 Pa. The average visible transmittance calculated in the wavelength ranging 500–800 nm is ranging between 2% and 77%. The optical band gap calculated from the absorption data is varied between 3.69 and 3.91 eV. A striking feature is that the work function of the films is wide ranging 4.61–4.93 eV. A possibility of using the produced IMO films as transparent conducting oxide in photovoltaic applications such as organic solar cells is discussed in this article.

Transparent and highly conducting gallium zinc oxide (GZO) films were successfully deposited by RF sputtering at room temperature. A lowest resistivity of ∼2.8×10−4 Ω cm was achieved for a film thickness of 1100 nm (sheet resistance ∼2.5 Ω/□), with a Hall mobility of 18 cm2/V s and a carrier concentration of 1.3×1021 cm−3. The films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure having a strong crystallographic c-axis orientation. A linear dependence between the mobility and the crystallite size was obtained. The films are highly transparent (between 80% and 90% including the glass substrate) in the visible spectra with a refractive index of about 2, very similar to the value reported for the bulk material. These films were applied to single glass/TCO/pin hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells as front layer contact, leading to solar cells with efficiencies of about 9.52%. With the optimized deposition conditions, GZO films were also deposited on polymer (PEN) substrates and the obtained results are discussed.

Thin films of copper oxide were obtained through thermal oxidation (100–450 °C) of evaporated metallic copper (Cu) films on glass substrates. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed the cubic Cu phase of the as-deposited films. The films annealed at 100 °C showed mixed Cu–Cu 2 O phase, whereas those annealed between 200 and 300 °C showed a single cubic Cu 2 O phase. A single monoclinic CuO phase was obtained from the films annealed between 350 and 450 °C. The positive sign of the Hall coefficient confirmed the p-type conductivity in the films with Cu 2 O phase. However, a relatively poor crystallinity of these films limited the p-type characteristics. The films with Cu and CuO phases show n-type conductivity. The surface of the as-deposited is smooth (RMS roughness of 1.47 nm) and comprised of uniformly distributed grains (AFM and SEM analysis). The post-annealing is found to be effective on the distribution of grains and their sizes. The poor transmittance of the as-deposited films (

Transparent wide band gap indium molybdenum oxide (IMO) thin films were rf sputtered on glass substrates at room temperature. The films were studied as a function of sputtering power (ranging 40–180 W) and sputtering time (ranging 2.5–20 min). The film thickness was varied in the range 50–400 nm. The as-deposited films were characterized by their structural (XRD), morphological (AFM), electrical (Hall Effect measurements) and optical (visible-NIR spectroscopy) properties. XRD studies revealed that the films are amorphous for the sputtering power ≤ 100 W and the deposition time ≤ 5 min, and the rest are polycrystalline with a strong reflection from (222) plane showing a preferential orientation. A minimum bulk resistivity of 2.65 × 10 − 3 Ω cm and a maximum carrier concentration of 4.16 × 10 20 cm − 3 are obtained for the crystalline films sputtered at 180 W (10 min). Whereas a maximum mobility (19.5 cm 2 V − 1 s − 1 ) and average visible transmittance (∼ 85%) are obtained for the amorphous films sputtered at 80 W and 100 W respectively for 10 min. A minimum transmittance (∼ 18%) was obtained for the crystalline films sputtered at 180 W (∼ 305 nm thick). The optical band gap was found varying between 3.75 and 3.90 eV for various sputtering parameters. The obtained results are analyzed and corroborated with the structure of the films.