Sensors and Actuators A 315 (2020) 112306

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Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sna

Enhancement of photo-sensing properties of CdS thin films by

changing spray solution volume
I. Loyola Poul Raj a , S. Valanarasu b,∗∗ , K. Hari Prasad c , M.S. Revathy d ,
N. Chidhambaram e , V. Ganesh f,g,∗ , H. Algarni f,g , H. Elhosiny Ali f,g,h
a
Department of Physics, Ananda College, Devakottai, 630303, India
b
PG and Research Department of Physics, Arul Anandar College, Madurai, 625514, India
c
Department of Physics, Institute of Aeronautical Engineering, Dundigal, Hyderabad, 500043, India
d
Department of Physics, School of Advanced Sciences, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, 626 126, India
e
Department of Physics, Rajah Serfoji Government College (Autonomous), Thanjavur, 613 005, Tamil Nadu, India
f
Research Center for Advanced Materials Science(RCAMS), King Khalid University, Abha 61413, PO Box 9004, Saudi Arabia
g
Advanced Functional Materials and Optoelectronic Laboratory (AFMOL), Department of Physics, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 61413,
Saudi Arabia
h
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: CdS is a II IV family semiconductor chalcogenide that has been deposited on amorphous glass substrates
Received 8 June 2020 as thin films form with various solution (precursor) volume (5, 10, and 15 mL) by employing a cost-
Received in revised form 13 August 2020 effective spray technique using a nebulizer. The effect of the varying quantity of coating solution on the
Accepted 25 August 2020
structural and optoelectronic properties has been studied. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns reveal the
Available online 28 August 2020
polycrystalline nature of CdS with a hexagonal structure with preferential orientation along the c-axis.
Atomic force microscope (AFM) demonstrated the film prepared with a 10 mL solution possesses uniform
Keywords:
coating with spherical shaped nanograins. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) reveals the coated
CdS thin film
Precursor volume
film contains Cd and S elements. The direct bandgap values decreased with the increase in precursor
Spray pyrolysis volume and reached a minimum value for the film prepared with a 10 mL solution. Photoluminescence
Spherical nanograins (PL) spectra revealed the two emission peaks in which a sharp dominant peak at 470 nm and a peak
Photo-sensor with a shoulder at 620 nm. The CdS film coated with a precursor spray volume of 10 mL resulted in
better photo-sensitivity characteristics of the responsivity of 1.01 AW−1 , detectivity of 2.21 × 1012 Jones,
photo-sensitivity of ∼4.9 × 103 , and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 257 %. The film-coated with a
solution volume of 10 mL was found to have good optical characteristics which make them suitable for
photo-detector applications.
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
In the modern world, there is a huge demand for sophisticated
optoelectronic devices for day-to-day life, industries, education
field, and research organizations, etc. [1–3]. But with these
demands, the utilization of power consumption is also rapidly
increased. It is well known that the power issue is the biggest
unsolved problem for the modern world. In the context of this,
∗ Corresponding author at: Research Center for Advanced Materials Sci-
ence(RCAMS), King Khalid University, Abha 61413, PO Box 9004, Saudi Arabia.
∗∗ Corresponding author at: Arul Anandar College, Madurai, 625514, India.
E-mail addresses: valanroyal@gmail.com (S. Valanarasu),
vangaganesh@gmail.com (V. Ganesh).
there is a huge need for reliable and rapid response semiconduc-
tor devices that could work with self-powered [1,4–6]. Group II–VI
chalcogenide metal compounds have been attracting the modern
world due to their wide variety of applications like solar cells, LEDs,
photodetectors, optoelectronic devices, and so on [7–9]. Among dif-
ferent chalcogenide compounds, Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is a special
class of material that possesses a wide direct bandgap for many
photo-sensing and optoelectronics applications. It provided a direct
bandgap of 2.4 eV with a low recombination rate for photogen-
erated carriers [10]. In addition to this, CdS is a wider studied
material for the modification of different physical and photode-
tector properties with different dopants and different preparation
conditions [11–13]. There are huge reports are available on the
different growth methods of CdS viz., CBD [14], thermal [15],
electro-deposition [16], electron beam evaporation [17], Sol-gel

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2020.112306
0924-4247/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2 I.L.P. Raj, S. Valanarasu, K.H. Prasad et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 315 (2020) 112306

[18] and spray technique [19]. Nebulizer Spray Pyrolysis (NSP) is a

kind of spray technique which function on the basis of the Bernoulli
principle [20]. It has many noticeable advantages. They are (i) It is a
very attractive, low cost, time-saving, and highly safe technique. (ii)
This technique can be employed to deposit a high-quality film on
a larger surface area with less chemical wastages. (iii) It is a more
sought method because by using this route one can able to pro-
duce pinhole-free films. (iv) Good quality films can be grown to be
even at a higher temperature of 650 ◦ C [21]. (v) This spray pyroly-
sis is the most useful technique to control various parameters such
as growth rate, thickness, temperature, uniformity, volume, etc.
[22–24]. Gunavathy et al. studied the effect of precursor volume on
the properties of Cu2 SnZnS4 thin films [25]. Munde et al. have stud-
ied the response and decay time of the CdS thick films fabricated by
using the spray pyrolysis technique [26]. Recently, Shkir et al. have
studied Sm: CdS and Pr:CdS films coated using the spray pyrolysis
procedure and reported photo-responsivities in the order of 0.213
and 2.71 AW−1 , respectively [27,19]. Although the spray technique
produces a uniform and quality films there is a significant effect of
precursor (solution) volume on the optical, electrical, and surface
morphological characteristics of the deposited films [28]. Recently,
Shinde et al. have studied the change in precursor solution volume
will convert amorphous films into crystalline films [29]. There is a
limited number of articles are available in the literature on the study
of spray solution volume. Hence, in the present work, we prepared
CdS thin films with different volumes of precursor solution by Neb-
ulizer spray pyrolysis technique for photo-sensing properties. The
structural, elemental composition, topographic, and optical prop-
erties the prepared films were studied. The photodetection ability
of the films was also studied.
2. Experimental procedure
A set of three CdS samples in the form of solid films were
successfully grown on the well-cleaned substrates using a high
pure cadmium chloride (CdCl2 ) solution of 0.1 M and thiourea
(CS(NH2 )2 ) solution of 0.1 M which were procured from Sigma
Aldrich. Glass slides with an area of 2 cm × 2 cm were used as
substrates to coat thin films. Before the deposition, the glass slides
were cleaned with chromic acid and then with acetone. The thin
films were coated on these pre-cleaned substrates by changing the
solution volumes from 5 mL/4 cm2 , 10 mL/4 cm2 and 15 mL/4 cm2
in steps of 5 mL/4 cm2 , through the nebulizer spray pyrolysis (NSP)
route. Raj Mohammed and his lab mates reported the mechanism
of the NSP technique [30]. The film coating parameters such as the
flow rate of the solution, nozzle-to substrate distance, pressure, and
substrate temperature were kept its optimized values of 1 mL/min,
5 cm, 1.5 kg/cm2 , and 450 ◦ C, respectively. All the samples were
taken from the hot plate and stored at room temperature.
The thickness of the film was determined using a stylus pro-
filometer. PANalytical X’Pert Pro X-ray diffractometer with CuK␣
radiation (k = 1.5418 Å) was performed to inspect the phase and
microstructural properties of CdS products. Surface topography and
qualitative analysis of the CdS films were studied by Atomic Force
Microscope (Solver Next, Russian) and Energy dispersive X-ray
analysis (EDX) (JEOL 6360). Photoluminescence spectra (PL) of the
as-deposited CdS samples were obtained using a (Thermo Fisher)
(With excitation wavelength ␭exc = 450 nm) was used to ana-
lyze the types of emissions and defect levels. Shimadzu-UV 1800
spectrophotometer was applied to collect the optical absorption
spectrum of the grown products between the wavelength range
400–900 nm. The responsivity, detectivity, photo-sensitivity, and
external quantum efficiency (EQE) of CdS thin films were measured
using a Keithley source meter system (model 2450), which was
measured using 532 nm laser wavelength.
Fig. 1. XRD patterns of the CdS thin films prepared with different precursor solution
volume.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. XRD analysis
Fig. 1 represents the diffraction patterns (XRD) of CdS films
coated with different volumes of precursor (solution) i.e. from 5
to 15 mL. The coated CdS thin films show diffraction peaks of
preferential orientation along (002) plane. Sivaraman et al. [31]
reported the similar diffraction peaks with the orientation along
(002) plane confirms the formation of CdS with hexagonal struc-
ture. The appearance of peaks revealed by CdS thin films is identical
with the JCPDS card No. 65-3414 [32]. The CdO additional impurity
peaks appeared at 32.89◦ and 38.18◦ for all the films due to a high
coating temperature of 450 ◦ C, which is matched with JCPDS card
No. 78-0653 [32]. Recently, Abdolahzadeh Ziabari and his labmates
[33] and Gosavi et al. [34] observed CdO impurity phase in CdS thin
films. The peak intensities increased as the volume of the solution
raised from 5 to 10 mL which is due to an increase in film thickness
and then decreased, a thin powder layer formed over the CdS film
surface because of more than sufficient solution volume for film
formation [35].
The average crystallite size and strain of the CdS films were cal-
culated from the Williamson–Hall plot (Fig. 2). In this approach, the
size, as well as strain broadening components, are additive of the
integral breadth (total) of a reflection peak given by,
ˇhkl = ˇD + ˇs (1)
 k   
ˇhkl = + 4ε tan  (2)
D cos 
Rearrangement of the above equation yields [36]
 k   
ˇhkl cos  = + 4ε sin  (3)
D
The Eq. (3) is used to calculate the size and strain assuming that
the strain was uniform in all the crystallographic directions which
represents the uniform deformation model (UDM) and the ␤cos␪
term was plotted against 4sin␪. The slope of the linear fitted line
gives the strain and the and y-intercept provides the crystallite size.
The average crystallite size was found to increase from 41 to 58
nm as the thickness of the film increases from 460 to 510 nm. In
the case of 15 mL of the spray solution, the thickness of the film
and crystallite size decrease due to the formation of a thin layer of
 I.L.P. Raj, S. Valanarasu, K.H. Prasad et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 315 (2020) 112306
Fig. 2. W–H plots of the CdS thin films prepared with different precursor solution
volume.
powdery film. It is vital to remember that the sample which has
a larger D value can boost the absorbance level. It is found that
there is a reduction in the lattice strain with the increase in solution
volume of 10 mL due to the increasing the average crystallite size of
the film. All the calculated parameters of thickness and structural
parameters are depicted in Table 1.
3
Table 1
Film thickness and structural parameters of CdS thin films.
Solution Film Thickness Crystallite Strain × 10−3
Volume (mL) (nm) size (nm)
5 460 41 0.311
10 510 58 0.212
15 490 53 0.259
Zhou et al. mentioned that when the sensing material is grown
at higher temperatures (in our case 450 ◦ C) one can able to improve
the crystallite size by suppressing defects as well as impurities [37].
The large crystallite size nanostructures are favorable for photo-
detecting applications. Because of the reduced structural defects
in the CdS sample can prolong the lifetime of photo-excited car-
riers, which open a new door to increase the photocurrent [38].
Another reason for large crystalline size may be due to increasing
film thickness. The increase in film thickness increases the proba-
bility of crystallization behavior. The increased film thickness can
boost the mobility-lifetime which leads to getting higher photocur-
rent [39].
3.2. AFM and EDX analysis
The 3D surface topography (5m × 5m) of the CdS thin films
are shown in Fig. 3(a–c). It is observed that at a lower volume of
the precursor solution, there are smaller grains observed on the
surface of the film, and with increasing the solution volume the
grain sizes are increased. The reason for increasing grain size is
attributed to at lower concentration there are many nucleation
centers that are grown individually and with increasing volume,
the nucleation centers interact with each other and resulting in
larger grain size is observed. The average roughness of the films
is also increasing with increasing volume concentration. But uni-
form morphology was observed for film prepared by 10 mL volume.
Above 10 mL the film morphology is not uniform. The reason for
the variation in average roughness is explained due to changes
in thickness and the reducing grain boundaries across the film
during the growth process. Similar behavior is observed in SnS
thin films by Srinivas et al. [40] and they reported that the thick-
ness of the films plays a major role in controlling the grain size
and roughness of the films. The present results observed in mor-
phological studies were well correlated with XRD studies suggest
that the volume is showing considerable effect in CdS films. To
identify the constituent elements present in a prepared mate-
rial, EDX analysis was carried out. Fig. 4 depicts the EDX spectra
of the prepared CdS thin films. It is clearly observed that the
expected elements Cd and S are present at their normal energies.
It is also noted that all the coated films show a close stoichiome-
try.
3.3. Photoluminescence analysis
The PL spectra of any device material provide a complete picture
of energy band and defects present in the samples. It also provides
information about the different electronic states available in mate-
rial with respect to growth conditions, concentration change, and
doping schemes. So, the change in growth parameters decides vari-
ation in PL spectra. Fig. 5 shows the PL spectra of the CdS thin films
prepared using different precursor volumes recorded at room tem-
perature. From the figure, it is seen that there is a band edge peak
is observed at around 530 nm is attributed to inter-band transfer
of charge carriers or recombination of bound excitons [41]. From
the figure it is also observed that the intensity of peak is varying
with precursor volume is showing the considerable effect of vol-
ume concentration. The intensity of the peak at 530 nm is increased
4 I.L.P. Raj, S. Valanarasu, K.H. Prasad et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 315 (2020) 112306

Fig. 3. AFM 3D images of the CdS thin films prepared at different precursor solution
volume (a) 5 mL, (b) 10 mL and (c) 15 mL.

and slightly shifted to a higher wavelength region is attributed to a

decrease in bandgap for the 10 mL volume film. Further, the volume
concentration may increase 15 mL of the CdS ions on the surface
of the film during the deposition process and increase. The peak
observed at 630 nm is attributed to more internal defects that occur
due to the interaction of cadmium vacancies, cadmium intersti-
tial, and sulfur vacancies [42–44]. Further, 15 mL concentration is
Fig. 4. EDX images of the CdS thin films prepared with different precursor solution
showing high-intensity peak when compared to the other concen-
volume (a) 5 mL, (b) 10 mL,and (c) 15 mL.
trations, which indicates that it evidences the maximum deep level
defects emission intensity [45] (Fig. 5).
recorded in the wavelength range of 400–900 nm. Fig. 6 displays the
3.4. UV–vis absorption analysis UV–vis absorption spectra of the CdS thin films. It is observed that
the prepared films are showing high absorption in the visible region
To understand the optical bandgap of the thin films coated which indicates the improved crystallization and low scattering of
with different precursor volume, UV–vis absorption spectra were light. The direct bandgap of present samples was calculated from
 I.L.P. Raj, S. Valanarasu, K.H. Prasad et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 315 (2020) 112306
Fig. 5. PL spectra of the CdS thin films prepared with different precursor solution
volume (a) 5 mL, (b) 10 mL, and (c) 15 mL.
Fig. 6. Absorption spectra of the CdS thin films prepared with different precursor
solution volume (a) 5 mL, (b) 10 mL, and (c) 15 mL (Inset shows the Tauc’s plots).
well-known Tauc’s relation [46] and Tauc’s plots are depicted as
the inset in Fig. 6.
 n
˛hv = B hv − Eg
where, ␣ and h␯ stand for the absorption coefficient and incident
photon energy, respectively. Parameter A is the constant and n char-
acterizes the transition process. The obtained bandgap values of
the samples are 2.41 and 2.37 eV for the samples prepared using
the spray solutions of 5 and 10 mL, respectively. Ismail Fathima
et al. [47] have obtained a similar decrement in bandgap value
with respect to the volume of the precursor solution. The reason
for the decreasing nature is also explained due to the increase in
the volume of precursor solution that may create more nucleates
on the surface of the film which allow absorbing more light. For 15
mL volume of the precursor solution, the bandgap value is again
upraised.
5
3.5. Photosensing analysis
Fig. 7(a) depicts the schematic diagram of the fabricated thin
film device. In this work, the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics
were studied in the presence and absence of laser light of 532 nm
wavelength with Ag as a contact electrode. Fig. 7(b–d) shows the I
− V curves of the CdS thin films for the voltage range of −5 to + 5
Vand value of photocurrent is significantly higher when compared
to the dark current. The maximum photocurrent value of 2.27 ␮A
at a 5 V bias voltage achieved for the CdS film prepared using 10
mL volume which is due to the low energy bandgap that permits a
high absorption and efficient electron-hole pairs generation under
the light intensity of 5 mW/cm2 and also the removing of oxygen
species from the surface of the device due to photogenerated car-
riers [48–50]. The responsivity of the device was determined by
the quantity of photocurrent generated by the incident light on the
effective area of a photodetector and which is expressed as,
Ip
R= (5)
Pin × A
Where, Ip, A, and Pin denotes the photocurrent, effective area, and
intensity of the light.-
The fabricated CdS photodetector shows a maximum responsiv-
ity of 0.55 AW−1 for the CdS film-coated by 10 mL solution. Husham
et al. [51] developed a CdS photodetector and shows the respon-
sivity 0.24 AW−1 . Shkir et al. [27] reported the responsivity value
of 1.101 AW−1 for Sm-doped CdS film by nebulizer spray pyrolysis
method, this high value is due to high absorption of light. Munde
et al. [52] showed the maximum value of the responsivity of 2.5
AW−1 for a high thickness CdS material.
The specific detectivity was computed by using the following
relation [27] and the values are given in Table 2

A
D∗ = R (6)
2eIdark
ere, e and Id represents the charge of the electron and current at
dark condition, respectively.
The detectivity of the material depends upon the responsivity
of the device. The measured detectivity values are 1.35 × 1010 , 16.7
× 1010, and 2.35 × 1010 Jones for the precursor solution volume of
5, 10, and 15 mL, respectively. Hemanth Kumar and his lab mates
[39] reported a lower value of 1.01 × 109 Jones for InS and Shkir
and his co-authors [19] reported a high value of 2.21 × 1012 Jones
for CdS:Sm. External quantum efficiency (EQE) is the ratio of the
number of electron-hole pairs (EHPs) collected to the number of
incident photons and was measured the following equation [27]
and the obtained values are shown in Table 2.
hc
EQE = R (7)
e
Where, h - Planck’s constant, c - velocity of light, and ␭ - wavelength
of the laser light. The EQE was found to be a maximum value of 176 %
(4)
for the CdS thin film prepared with 10 mL of volume and it is higher
than the other two films which are due to its high responsivity. The
EQE values for the currently fabricated photodetector is higher than
that of 143 % with CdS:Eu [53] and lower than that of 629 % with
CdS:Pr [19]
Fig. 8(a–c) demonstrates the successive switching behavior of
the photo-response, which is used to calculate the rise and fall time.
The rise and decay time values of the fabricated device are given in
Table 2. The rise and fall periods for the film prepared at 10 mL solu-
tion are 0.3 and 0.4 s, respectively, the current begins to rise very
rapidly; then it rises gradually until the saturated stability value is
reached and when the light is turned off, the decay begins rapidly
and then decreases, reaching the stability saturation point. The fast
levels of photocurrent increase and decrease are due to generation
6 I.L.P. Raj, S. Valanarasu, K.H. Prasad et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 315 (2020) 112306

Fig. 7. (a) Schematic diagram of CdS photosensor, Semi-log I-V characteristics of the fabricated CdS photo sensor measured in dark and illumination conditions at a bias
voltage between -5 and 5 V prepared using different precursor solution volumes (b) 5 mL, 10 mL, and (d) 15 mL.

Table 2
Comparison of the photosensor parameters of current work with the previous CdS photodetectors.

Sample Responsivity (AW−1 ) External quantum efficiency (EQE) (%) Detectivity (Jones) Rise time Fall time Ref.

CdS:Sm 1.101 257 2.21 × 10 12

157 ms 166 ms [45]
CdS:Eu 0.614 143 2.6 × 1013 ------ ------ [48]
CdS:Pr 2.71 629 6.9 × 1011 0.09 ms 0.17 ms [49]
CdS NPs 2.0 × 102 529 ------- 137 ␮s 379 ␮s [52]
CdS:Ag 0.43 91 2.58 × 1011 ------ ------- [53]
CdS:5 mL 0.04 13 1.35×1010 0.4s 0.5s
CdS :10 mL 0.55 176 16.7×1010 0.3s 0.4s Present work
CdS :15 mL 0.06 20 2.35×1010 0.5s 0.4s

and recombination; however, the slow rate of up and down in the
system is attributed to traps and impurities. The rise and fall times
of the present work are comparable with earlier reports by Li et al.
[54] and An et al. [55].
Fig. 8(d) shows the relationship between the photocurrent and
the incident light intensity. To study the quantitative dependence
of the photocurrent with respect to illumination intensity, the pho-
togenerated current as a function of light intensity can be fitted by
a simple power law [56]. Different semiconductor processes such
as electron-hole pair generation, trapping and recombination are
explained by non-unity exponent curve. The experimental results
were fitted by using the equation [57]:
Iph = ˛ϕn
Where ␣ is a scaling constant, ␸ is the light power, and n an
exponent. The exponent ‘n’ value offers information about the
device’s photo-detection mechanism and recombination process.
The experimental data were fitted by the polynomial equation: y =
A + Bxn and the fitted parameters are shown in Fig. 8(d). The expo-
nent n is found to be 1.01, 1.78, and 0.99 for CdS films fabricated
using 5, 10, and 15 mL coating solutions, respectively. Among them,
the device fabricated with a 10 mL solution is found to be a max-
imum value of 1.78. It indicates that the film prepared with a 10
mL solution displays fewer defects resulting in reduced CdS thin
film trap resulting in improved performance of CdS photodetectors
compared to other volumes prepared to film.
4. Conclusions
(8)
CdS thin films were coated with different solution volumes
(5–15 mL, in steps of 5 mL) using a cost-effective nebulized spray
pyrolysis method. The XRD studies disclosed that all the fabricated
 I.L.P. Raj, S. Valanarasu, K.H. Prasad et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 315 (2020) 112306
Fig. 8. Plots of current vs. time of the CdS thin films using different precursor solution volumes (a) 5 mL, (b) 10 mL and (c) 15 mL, and (d) A plot of fitted (solid line)
photocurrent as a function of illumination intensity of the CdS thin films with different precursor solution volumes.
films showed a hexagonal crystal structure. The film-coated with
10 mL solution showing uniform spherical shaped grains with-
out any pores. The EDX study revealed the stoichiometry CdS film
formed for a 10 mL volume solution. It was observed that, as the
volume increased up to 10 mL the absorption had increased while
the bandgap decreased. The film-coated using the 10 mL precur-
sor solution volume revealed a high responsivity of 0.55 AW−1 ,
the external quantum efficiency of 176%, and a low rise/fall time
of 0.3/0.4 s when compared to the other samples. The obtained
results show that the CdS films are good semiconductor material
for photodetector applications.
Declaration of competing interest
On behalf of all authors, we, the corresponding authors hereby
confirm that the manuscript submitted under the title “Enhance-
ment of photo-sensing properties of CdS thin films by changing
spray solution volume” has no conflict of interest. The authors
have no involvement in any organization or entity with any
financial interest or non-financial in the subject matter or mate-
rials discussed in this manuscript. We further declare that this
manuscript is original, has neither been published nor currently
being considered for publication elsewhere.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors report no declarations of interest.
7
Acknowledgment
The authors extend their appreciation to the Research Center
for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University
for funding this work under grant number RCAMS/KKU/015-20.
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Biographies
I. Loyola Poul Raj received the B.Sc. degree in Physics from
Alagappa University, Karaikudi, India. He received the
M.Sc., and M.Phil., in Physics from Bharathidasan Univer-
sity, Trichy, India. Currently, he is working as an assistant
professor at the Department of Physics, Ananda College,
Devakottai, India. Also doing his part-time Ph.D. at Kama-
raj University, Madurai, India. His research interest is
primarily in the area of thin films and their application
to gas sensor, photodetector and optoelectronics.
Dr. S. Valanarasu is working as an Assistant Pro-
fessor, Department of Physics, Arul Anandar College,
Karumathur, Tamilnadu, India. He was a postdoctoral
researcher at Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea in
the field of thin films. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in
material science from the Alagappa University, Karaikudi
India. He has published more than 110 scientific papers so
far in reputed journals. His research is focused to under-
stand the device physics of future optoelectronics devices,
in particular, organic solar cells, and perovskites solar
cells. His current research interests are the fabrication
of thin film devices, nanomaterials, nanocomposites and
their application to solar cell, photodiode, photosensor,
gas sensor, and water treatment.
Dr. K. Hari Prasad currently working as an Assistant
Professor at the Department of Physics, Institute of Aero-
nautical Engineering, Hyderabad, India. He received his
Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) in Physics in 2010, from
Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India. He received a
Ph.D. degree in the field of Bulk and Thin-film electrode
materials for lithium-ion batteries under the supervision
of Prof. N. Satyanarayana at the Department of Physics,
Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India, in April-2018.
His current research interests are in the synthesis of
novel multifunctional nanomaterials, nanocomposites,
and their applications to lithium/sodium-ion batteries,
solar cells, gas sensors, and photocatalytic activity.
9
Dr. M.S. Revathy has completed her Ph.D. in Anna Uni-
versity in 2016. She has done M.Sc., M.Phil Physics in
Mother Teresa Women’s University, Kodaikanal. Currently
working as an Assistant Professor in the Department
of Physics, School of Advanced Sciences, Kalasalingam
Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Sriv-
illiputhur, Tamil Nadu, India. She has published several
papers in national and international journals. Her current
research interest includes thin films, nanomaterials, solar
cells, Conducting polymer electrolyte, and gas sensing.
Dr. N. Chidhambaram received his Ph.D. degree in Physics
from Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India in
2018. He is currently working as an Assistant Professor of
Physics, Rajah Serfoji Government College (Autonomous),
Thanjavur, India. He has published several research papers
in the peer-reviewed journals of international repute. His
research interests focus on metal oxides, carbonaceous
materials, photocatalysis, and optoelectronic devices.
Dr.Ganesh Vanga: Currently he is an Assistant Professor,
at department of Physics, King Khalid University, Abha,
Saudi Arabia. Dr.Ganesh Vanga received his Ph.D degree in
Material Science and Crystal Growth in April 2010, from
Kakatiya University, Warangal, India. His scientific inter-
est focused on nonlinear optics, nanotechnology and thin
film fabrications for optoelectronic devices, organic mate-
rials, composites and their characterization
Dr. H. Algarni is an academician, researcher and Assis-
tant Professor of international recognition at the King
Khalid University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His research
areas are field emission properties of nanomaterials, crys-
tal growth, sensors, electronic devices, solar cells, metallic
glasses, etc. He has published many research papers in
the journals of international repute. He is also serving as
a dean forScientific Research at King Khalid University,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Dr.Haitham Elhosiny Ali: (H. Elhosiny Ali) received his
Ph.D. degree in advanced materials and nanotechnolo-
gies in May 2013, from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid,
Madrid, Spain. In 2019, he was promoted to be an
Associate Professor of applied physics. He worked at
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Zagazig Univer-
sity, for more than 10 years as a Demonstrator, assistant
lecturer, a Lecturer and associate professor of physics. His
research interests include nano-materials films/powder
and devices, nano-metal oxide thin films/powders,
organic materials, polymer materials, composites, and
their characterization.