Tuning PL emission energy and bandgap with Ni dopant of MgO thin films

Abstract In this study, for the first time, the effect of Nickel (Ni) additive on Magnesium oxide (MgO) thin films produced by using successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction technique (SILAR) was investigated. Absorption, photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements were executed to examine how the optical, structural and morphological properties of the samples were affected by the addition of Ni. In the absorption analysis, it was noted that the band gaps of the MgO samples decreased from 4 eV to 3.5 eV with the increase of Ni dopant concentrations. Also, the transmittance values of MgO nanostructures decreases with the increase of Ni contribution, and in the same way, the reflection measurements show that the reflection of MgO decreases with the increase of Ni doping. PL measurements revealed that the fabricated structures radiate around 410 nm and 730 nm. According to XRD measurements, besides the cubic structure of the samples, NiO formations were detected inside the MgO thin film samples due to the increase in Ni dopant. XPS measurements have proven the presence of Ni doping in MgO. SEM measurements showed that all samples exhibited nanowall structure. All these results demonstrate that Ni doping on MgO thin films can be achieved by using SILAR deposition technique.