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Convective self-assembled processed multiwall carbon nanotube thin films for semi-transparent microelectronic applications

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Abstract

A self-assembled convective setup was utilized to manufacture multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) thin films at room temperature on glass substrates. The extracted X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the manufactured MWCNTs films have a crystal structure with observed peaks at 2θ = 26.61°, 43.45°, and 53.1°, and are related to the (002), (101) and (004) planes, respectively, confined to graphite of a hexagonal structure. The Raman spectroscopic behavior of the samples was investigated, and the intensity of the D:G band ratio was utilized to estimate the crystallinity degree of carbon in the MWCNTs samples (~ 0.81). The SEM images of the films showed that the topographical properties of the films are retained and densely packed, confirming a network distribution. Briefly, the films are significantly influenced to have a rod-like shape of the MWCNTs. The analyzed HR-TEM images of the films have a uniform structure with cylindrical-shaped MWCNTs. When the energy of the probe waves was  ~ 3.95 eV, the reflected and transmitted probe wave vanished. The fabricated MWCNTs films may play an essential role as a real absorber with an absorption coefficient α(hυ = 3.5 eV) ≈ 5.36 × 105 cm−1. The manufactured MWCNTs films are found to support the interpretation of a direct bandgap; the evaluated energy gap is \({E}_{g}^{OPT}\) =3.748 eV as a result of the carbon atoms impurities; and a direct transition at low energy is estimated by \({E}_{g}^{Onset}=0.59 \mathrm{e}\mathrm{V}\). The performance of the fabricated films is predicted and analyzed by the complex parameters: dispersion, n*, optical dielectric, ε*, and optical conductivity, σ*. The manufactured MWCNTs provide a pathway to fabricate a broadband stable behavioral absorptive layer for photovoltaic devices and optical switching optoelectronics (at low reflectance and transmittance with high absorbance).

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Acknowledgement

The authors express their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this work through research groups program under Grant Number R.G.P. 2/65/40.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Faculty of Science and Arts (AlMikhwah), AlBaha University, AlBaha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Ahmed M. Nawar

  2. Thin Films Laboratory, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, (41522), Egypt

    Ahmed M. Nawar

  3. Advanced Functional Materials & Optoelectronic Laboratory (AFMOL), Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha, Saudi Arabia

    I. S. Yahia

  4. Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, Abha, (61413), Saudi Arabia

    I. S. Yahia

  5. Nanoscience Laboratory for Environmental and Bio-Medical Applications (NLEBA), Semiconductor Lab, Department of Physics, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Roxy, Cairo, 11757, Egypt

    I. S. Yahia

  6. Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Ain-Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, (11566), Egypt

    M. S. Al-Kotb

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  1. Ahmed M. Nawar
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Nawar, A.M., Yahia, I.S. & Al-Kotb, M.S. Convective self-assembled processed multiwall carbon nanotube thin films for semi-transparent microelectronic applications. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 31, 12127–12136 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-020-03759-z

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