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Induced crystallization and enhanced light absorption and optical conduction in WO3 films via pulsed laser welding technique

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Abstract

Herein amorphous WO3 thin films prepared by the thermal evaporation technique under a vacuum pressure of 10−5 mbar are treated via pulsed laser welding technique (PLW) in an argon atmosphere. An induced crystallization process within one second for a spot of diameter of 2 mm is achieved via this technique. The crystalline films exhibited hexagonal structure and showed cuboid grains of dimensions of (length × width) 4.6 ×  1.1 (μm)2. In addition, the PLW treated tungsten oxide thin films exhibited enhanced light absorbability reaching 90 times at 3.09 eV. Moreover in addition to the existing indirect energy band gap (3.50 eV) of WO3 films, the PLW treatment resulted in formation of another direct energy band gap of value of 1.92 eV. The pulsed laser welding of the WO3 films increased the optical conductivity of the films by 66 times and shifted the plasmon frequency from 0.19  to 6.99 GHz. The free charge carrier density also increased by two orders of magnitude. On the other hand, the impedance spectroscopy studies have shown domination of negative capacitance effect in samples treated with PLW technique. The conversion of the structure of the films from amorphous to polycrystalline that is associated with enhanced light absorption and improved optical conduction which is achieved within 41 s for a large area of 1.25 cm2 of the films is accounted as a smart new approach for improving the physical properties of thin films.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), University of Ha’il, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The authors, therefore, gratefully acknowledge the DSR technical and financial support.

Funding

This study was funded by the Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR), Ha’il University, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

    Latifah Hamad Khalid Alfhaid

  2. Department of Physics, Arab American University, Jenin, Palestine

    A. F. Qasrawi

  3. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Istinye University, 34010, Istanbul, Turkey

    A. F. Qasrawi

Authors
  1. Latifah Hamad Khalid Alfhaid
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  2. A. F. Qasrawi
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Contributions

Dr. Latifa Alfhaid have shared in the review article collection, wins the fund, analyzed the X-ray data in Fig. 1a and calculated parameters in Table 1. She also calculated the data in Fig. 4c and made Tauc's equation fittings (Fig. 5b). She determined the energy band gaps and calculated the optical conductivity Fig. 6a. Qasrawi guided the work, measured the data and analyzed or shared analyses of the data in Fig. 1b and c, Fig. 4a–c. He carried out the computational analyses and edited the article.

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Correspondence to A. F. Qasrawi.

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Alfhaid, L.H.K., Qasrawi, A.F. Induced crystallization and enhanced light absorption and optical conduction in WO3 films via pulsed laser welding technique. Opt Quant Electron 55, 451 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-023-04738-4

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