Applied Physics A (2020) 126:958

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-020-04144-7

Flexible and high‑performance broadband nanoflowers tin sulfide

photodetector
Mohamed S. Mahdi1,2 · Husam S. Al‑Arab1 · Kamal H. Latif1 · K. Ibrahim2 · M. Bououdina3

Received: 9 May 2020 / Accepted: 11 November 2020

© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
A significant prerequisite for the development of a high-performance photodetector remains its low dark current value,
because it promotes sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio, in addition to low detectability light power density. Nevertheless,
the fabricated photodetectors, which are based on deposited tin sulfide (SnS) films onto a flexible (PET at pH 5) and glass
substrates, exhibited relatively high dark current values around (0.2 µA) and (several µA), respectively. This study proposes
a novel approach for a better control of the photoresponse characteristics of nanostructured SnS film which resulted from
reducing the deposition growth rate by adjusting the pH of the reaction solution to 5.8. The film was deposited onto a flex-
ible substrate of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using an inexpensive chemical bath deposition method. The as-fabricated
photodetector exhibited a low dark current value approximately (~ 24 nA) at 5 V bias voltage and a good response in a broad
range covering the UV up to the near-infrared. Besides, light-emitting diodes (380, 530, 750, and 850 nm) were used to
investigate the photoresponse characteristics of the photodetector. The latter manifested fast photoresponse times (rise and
decay) and good sensitivity for all used illumination wavelengths. Furthermore, under various illumination power densities
of 850 nm, the photocurrent manifested a good dependence upon power density. Based on the obtained excellent photore-
sponse characteristics, this photodetector is promising for the photoelectronic flexible device in the UV–Vis–NIR range.

Keywords  Flexible · Broadband · Photodetector · Nanoflowers · SnS

1 Introduction is desirable [3]. In addition, nanostructured materials such

Recently, extensive efforts have been carried out to synthe-
size and characterize nanomaterial semiconductors because
of their exceptional and significant features along with their
performance in various gas and light-sensing applications
[1]. The fabricated photodetectors based on these semicon-
ductors have also been used in industrial applications such as
broad spectral switches, environment monitoring, and image
and chemical/biological sensing [2–5]. The progress in light-
sensing devices that cover a wide spectral response, includ-
ing ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared (UV–Vis–NIR),
* Husam S. Al‑Arab
husam.sabyh84@gmail.com
1
Directorate of Renewable Energy, Ministry of Science
and Technology, Baghdad, Iraq
2
School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang,
Malaysia
3
Department of Physics, College of Science, University
of Bahrain, Zallaq, Kingdom of Bahrain
as (SnS), are environmentally benign and gather particular
interest in the progress of photodetector and photovoltaic
devices manifested by the relatively lower toxicity and sim-
ple discharge requirements compared with heavy metals
(Hg, Cd, and Pb) [6]. Besides, SnS is cheap material and
stable under ambient environments [7, 8]. Nowadays, the
continuous growing role of flexible optoelectronic devices
is manifested by their long-term viability in liquid crystal
displays, wearable optoelectronic devices, and future paper
displays [9–11]. Flexible photodetectors with their excep-
tional properties such as lightweight, flexibility, shock resist-
ance softness, and biocompatibility become attractive for
cutting-edge technologies [9, 10]. In the literature, various
techniques have been adopted for the growth of SnS films,
including electron beam [12], electrodeposition [13], spray
pyrolysis [14], radio frequency (RF) sputtering [15], thermal
evaporation [16], as well as chemical bath deposition (CBD)
[17–21]. Among the above techniques, CBD has been
widely used for the SnS film deposition, because it is simple,
cheap, and does not require complex technical instruments

13
Vol.:(0123456789)
 958   Page 2 of 8
and costly equipment. Moreover, the temperature of the
aqueous solution to synthesize SnS films in CBD technique
ranges from room temperature to 90 °C [22]. Therefore, the
relatively low-temperature can be used for the growth of
SnS films onto flexible substrates such as PET. Based on
its advantages, the CBD technique has been adopted for the
growth of SnS thin films. In addition, film growth during
CBD can be easily controlled by adjusting different param-
eters, such as the pH of the solution, the temperature of the
bath, the deposition time, and by modifying the composition
of the precursor solution [23, 24]. According to the literature
review, the influence of different parameters on the electrical
characteristics of SnS films has been extensively inspected,
including annealing temperature [25], deposition time [26,
27], plasma treatment [28–30], deposition temperature [31,
32], concentration of complex agent [18, 19], the precur-
sor concentration of sodium thiosulfate ­(Na2S2O3) [32],
the precursor concentration of thiacetamide (­ CH3CSNH2)
[33], and nature of substrate [34]. However, there is a lack
to investigate the pH influence on the electrical characteris-
tics of SnS films. Moreover, in our previous work [35], the
flexible NIR (850 nm) photodetector produced from SnS
film deposited at pH 5 on flexible polyethylene terephtha-
late (PET) substrate showed a relatively high dark current
around (200 nA) at a 5 V bias voltage. The relatively high
dark current of the photodetector reduces its performance;
the lower sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratio, as well as
the high detectability of the light power density. Thus, in
this work, a novel method for better control and reduction
of the growth rate of the deposition of nanostructured SnS
film was proposed to achieve a thickness of 200 ± 10 nm
by adjusting the pH reaction solution to 5.8. As a result,
the as-developed flexible present photodetector showed low
dark current (approximately 24 nA at a 5 V bias voltage).
The lowering of the dark current resulted in an enhancement
of its performance; i.e., the sensitivity (upon illumination
at 850 nm) is three times higher compared to our previous
work [35], as well as faster photoresponse time. In addition,
it showed its capability to detect a broadband range from
UV to NIR. Moreover, the photodetector exhibited excellent
photoresponse characteristics (high sensitivity, fast response,
and recovery times) and reproducibility for all illuminated
wavelengths (380, 530, 750, and 850 nm).
2 Experimental part
2.1 Deposition of SnS films
Nanostructured (SnS) film was grown onto a flexible
substrate (PET) by CBD technique. 0.15 M of thioaceta-
mide ­(C2H5NS) and 0.1 M of stannous chloride dihydrate
­(SnCl2∙2H2O) were used as S­ 2− and S
­ n2+ ions sources,
13
M. S. Mahdi et al.
respectively. To reduce the kinetics of precipitation during
the deposition process, a 0.2 M of trisodium citrate (TSC)
­(Na3C6H5O7) as complexing agent was added. The above
chemicals were dissolved at room temperature in 50 ml of
deionized water through rigorous stirring. Ammonium solu-
tion (25%) was added dropwise to the reaction solution to
adjust the pH to 5.8. More details of the experiment are
available in our prior work [35].
2.2 Characterization
The crystal structure of the deposited SnS film was checked
by X-ray diffraction (XRD) using PANalytical X’Pert
PRO diffractometer equipped with CuKα radiation source
(λ = 1.5406 Å). FEI Nova NanoSEM 450 field-emission
scanning electron microscope (FESEM) equipped with
energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) detector was used for mor-
phological examination. The spectrum of absorbance in the
wavelength range (320–1500 nm) was recorded using Cary
model UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer. Illumination of Hg
(Xe) lamp was used to determine the photodetector spectral
responsivity in the interval of (320–1000 nm) at an incre-
ment of 10 nm. The determination of photoresponse charac-
teristics was accomplished using four different light-emitting
diodes (LEDs) having different wavelength peaks (380, 530,
750, and 850 nm) with a source meter Keithley 2400. The
output power densities for the Hg (Xe) lamp and LEDs were
measured using a Newport power meter model 2936-C. All
the measurements were performed at room temperature.
3 Growth mechanism of SnS nanostructures
The formation of SnS thin film occurs through three main
stages:
(i) Ionization of the stannous chloride in an aqueous
solution is given by the reaction:
SnCl2 → Sn2+ + 2Cl− . (1)
(ii) Ammonia ­(NH3) [36, 37] and trisodium citrate dihy-
drate (TSC) [18, 19, 38] were used as the complex
­ n+2 and form ions of Sn-com-
agents for binding S
plexing by means of the following reactions:
)2+
Sn2+ + 2NH3 → Sn NH3 2 , (2)
(
Sn2+ + TSC → Sn (TSC)2+ . (3)
(iii) Finally, the ions of Sn-complexing decompose slowly
to free ­Sn2+. Then, these ions bond with the result-
Flexible and high‑performance broadband nanoflowers tin sulfide photodetector Page 3 of 8  958
ing ­S2− from the hydrolysis of thioacetamide to form
solid phase of SnS [27] as follows:
[SnLn]2+ + CSH3 NH2 + 2OH− → SnS + CH3 COONH4 + nL,
(4)
where L denotes N ­ H3 or TSC. Particularly, the growth and
nucleation of the thin film are known to be influenced by
the change of pH value (variation in the amount of N ­ H3 in
the reaction solution). In this work, the increase in pH value
(5.8) compared to the previous work value (5) [35] favors the
binding of more ­Sn2+ ions during the ­NH3 reaction solution
to the formation of Sn-complexing ions (Eq. 2). Due to the
fact that ions of Sn-complexing decompose slowly to free
­Sn2+ (Eq. 4), the growth rate will be slower and the film
thickness is then reduced.
4 Results and discussion
4.1 Crystal structure analysis
Figure 1a illustrates the XRD pattern of the prepared SnS
film. The low-intensity peaks observed at 38.9° and 42.28°
are indexed as (131) and (210) reflections belonging to the
orthorhombic structure of SnS, matching well with JCPDS
card No. 00-39-0354 [39]. The appearance of two low
Fig.1  a The XRD pattern of the prepared SnS film. b, c FESEM images of SnS nanoflowers film
Fig.2  a The absorbance spec-
trum of the SnS film. b Plot of
(αhν)2 vs (hν)
intense peaks of SnS compound may be ascribed to the low
thickness of the film [40].
4.2 Surface morphology
The FESEM image shown in Fig. 1b reveals a dense flower-
like nanostructure covering the entire surface of the sub-
strate, with the appearance of few voids. The high magnified
image (Fig. 1c) reveals that each leaf of flower is in fact
composed of many nanoparticles. Moreover, the presence
of a porous-like nanostructure will result in an enhance-
ment of light absorption [41], subsequently an increase in
the generation of electron–hole pairs accompanied with an
increase in the generated photocurrent and enhancement in
photodetector performance [42]. The gravimetric method
has been utilized to estimate the thickness of the film; i.e.,
an average value around ~ 200 ± 10 nm.
4.3 Optical properties
The absorbance spectrum of SnS film, as depicted in Fig. 2a,
clearly reveals a sharp increase in the absorbance value near
900 nm, indicating the onset of the energy gap. In addition,
it manifests a good absorption covering a wideband from
UV up to NIR.
13
 958   Page 4 of 8
The direct energy band gap (­ Eg) has been determined
using Tauc plot, as expressed by the following equation [14,
32, 43–46]:
(𝛼 h𝜈)n = B h𝜈 − Eg , (5)
( )
where B is a constant, α is the absorption coefficient, h is
Planck’s constant, and ν is the photon frequency. The expo-
nent n depends on the nature of the transition n = 2, 1/2,
2/3, or 1/3 for allowed direct, allowed in-direct, forbidden
direct, or forbidden in-direct transitions, respectively [32].
Figure 2b shows the optical band-gap energy values of SnS
film, estimated using Tauc plot (αhν)2 vs. hν. The plot of
(αhν)2 vs. hν is a straight line and its energy axis intercept
at (α h ν) = 0 gives the energy band gap (Eg) of the material.
In the present study, n = 2 is found to have a linear fit of the
Tauc plot, which shows the existence of a direct optical tran-
sition [14, 47]. The obtained direct energy band-gap value
(1.3 eV) is consistent with the reported values of orthorhom-
bic structure in earlier studies [18, 19]. Under illumination,
in the case of direct band gap besides the high absorption
of SnS film, an effective generation of electron–hole pairs
occurs making it suitable for optoelectronic device applica-
tions [48].
4.4 Photoconductive characteristics
To complete the fabrication of the photodetector, silver (Ag)
electrodes were deposited using radio frequency (RF) sput-
tering technique through a finger mask. The schematic of the
Fig. 3  a The schematic illustra-
tion of the experimental setup. b
The photodetector responsivity
upon Hg (Xe) lamp illumina-
tion. c The (I–V) curves in the
conditions of dark and upon
illumination. d The band dia-
gram of metal–semiconductor
13
M. S. Mahdi et al.
device for investigating the photoelectric (photoconductive)
characteristics of SnS nanoflowers photodetector is depicted
in Fig. 3a.
The responsivity (R) is an important parameter to evalu-
ate the photodetector ability. It is defined as the amount of
photocurrent generated (Iph) per unit effective area (A) per
illumination power density (Pinc) [49, 50]:
(6)
( )
R = Iph ∕ Pinc ⋅ A ,
where Iph = IL − Idark, IL, and Idark are the illumination cur-
rent and the dark current, respectively. The active area of
the device is 0.19 ­cm2. The responsivity dependence in the
wavelength range (320–1000 nm) at a bias voltage of 5 V is
depicted in Fig. 3b. The obtained values of responsivity are
close to ­10–2 mA/W for the range (UV–Vis–NIR), indicating
a good responsivity for the entire range.
Figure 3c illustrates the current vs. voltage (I–V) plots of
the photodetector in dark and upon illumination measured
under various light wavelengths. It can be noticed that, for
all wavelengths (380, 530, 750, and 850 nm), the current of
the photodetector increases under illumination in compari-
son to the dark current. Due to the overlap of the photocur-
rent curves for different illumination wavelengths, an illus-
tration of these curves was inserted in Fig. 3c. Moreover,
the observed linear trend in the (I–V) curves suggests the
successful achievement of a metal–semiconductor ohmic
contact (the work function of metal (ϕm) is larger than that
of semiconductor (ϕs) [51]) between Ag electrodes and the
nanoflowers-like SnS film. This contact type can be ascribed
Flexible and high‑performance broadband nanoflowers tin sulfide photodetector Page 5 of 8  958

to the formation of majority carriers (holes) accumula-
tion near the SnS surface, as shown in the band diagram
(Fig. 3d). The obtained Ag electrodes/SnS-film ohmic con-
tact is in good agreement with previous works [52, 53].
The photoresponse stability and repeatability are con-
sidered as key features for determining the ability of the
photodetector for specific applications. Figure 4a–d shows
the photocurrent dynamics (I–T) curves of the nanoflowers-
based photodetector for cyclic illumination in the specific
wavelengths within the range of UV–NIR at a bias voltage of
5 V. For all illuminating wavelengths, it can be observed that
there are an identical increase and decrease in the current for
all repeated cycles under ON/OFF illumination conditions,
indicating an excellent reproducibility.
The photoresponse times (rise and decay) of the photo-
detector represent significant parameters that limit the pho-
todetector applications. The relatively faster photoresponse
time can expand the scope of the photodetector applications
field. At 5 V bias voltage, the rise time values for one cycle
of ON/OFF are found to be 0.22, 0.21, 0.19, and 0.23 s for
380, 530, 750, and 850 nm, respectively, whereas the corre-
sponding decay time values are 0.33, 0.29, 0.28, and 0.31 s.
The values of photoresponse times (rise and decay) are faster
compared with their values from our previous work [35]; at
the illumination wavelength 850 nm (0.23 and 0.31 s) com-
pared to (0.38 and 0.67 s). This can be ascribed to the reduc-
tion of carrier scattering caused by the low impurity carrier’s
concentration (dark current) followed by an enhancement in
the carrier’s mobility [54, 55]. Moreover, the photoresponse
time values for all the illuminated wavelengths indicate that
the photocurrent is originated from band-to-band transition.
In contrast, the fabricated broadband photodetector based
on SnS cubic crystal structure grown onto glass substrate
revealed that the photoresponse time values for the illumina-
tion wavelength 850 nm were longer when compared with
other wavelengths [56]. These longer time values are origi-
nated from the photoresponsible defects existent within the
band gap; these defects contribute to the further increase in
the photoresponse time.
The sensitivity (S) of the photodetector is given as the
ratio of the generated photocurrent value to the value of dark
current, and can be expressed as [57]:
(7)
( )
S (%) = Iph ∕Idark × 100.
The determined photodetector sensitivity values pre-
sented in Fig. 5a–d are approximately 374, 345, 404, and 312
for the wavelengths 380, 530, 750, and 850 nm, respectively.
Besides, the present photodetector exhibits a good sensitiv-
ity for broadband range, and it also reveals an enhancement
by almost three magnitudes in the value of its sensitivity
compared to that obtained for SnS photodetector in our pre-
vious work [35] at illumination wavelength (850 nm); i.e.,
312 compared to 102. This can be attributed to the achieved
low dark current value (24 nA) for the present photodetector
compared with its value in our previous work (200 nA) [35],
where the photodetector exhibited a lower dark current with
a higher sensitivity [58, 59]. Moreover, although the power
density of 850 nm is the highest compared with other wave-
lengths, it shows the lowest sensitivity value (312). This can

Fig. 4  The (I–T) curves under

illumination of various wave-
lengths at applied bias voltage
of 5 V. a 380 nm. b 530 nm. c
750 nm. d 850 nm

13
 958   Page 6 of 8 M. S. Mahdi et al.

Fig. 5  a The (I–T) curves under

850 nm illumination with vari-
ous power densities. b The pho-
togenerated (Iph) vs illumination
power density (Pinc) curve upon
illumination of 850 nm

be associated with its lowest absorbance value compared to
other wavelength values, as observed in Fig. 2a. This result
is in good agreement with the previous study [60]. Further-
more, the sensitivity values of the present photodetector are
comparatively the highest when compared to the sensitivity
values obtained for SnS photodetectors grown onto S ­ iO2/
Si [1, 61–64] and glass [17, 47, 65, 66] substrates, as sum-
marized in Table 1.
To further investigate the photoresponse characteristics
of the present photodetector, photocurrent measurements
have been performed upon different illumination power
densities of 850 nm, as shown in Fig. 5a. As expected, the
illumination by higher light power density results in more
photon flux, leading to the generation of large number of
electron–hole pairs. The photocurrent (Iph) vs illumination
power density (Pinc) curve is plotted in Fig. 5b. The relation
between Iph and Pinc can be fitted by a power law [11, 61,
67]:
Iph = K(Pinc )𝛾 , (8)
where K is the proportionality constant, whereas the expo-
nent γ represents a factor that determines the response of
the photocurrent to illumination power density [61, 67]. The
curve fitting illustrated in Fig. 5b gives the value of γ = 0.66.
Several complex processes in semiconductor materials like
trapping, generation, and recombination of electron–hole
pairs may cause the non-unity exponent [2, 68]. Moreo-
ver, the γ value in the present work is higher compared to
the value reported in the previous work (0.51) [35]. This
result may be attributed to better crystinallity of SnS film
and a relatively lower density of trap states in its energy
band gap [11] and as a consequence of the low growth rate

Table 1  Comparison of the results of the present photodetector with previous reports of SnS photodetectors
Substrate Crystal structure Bias voltage Illumination source Pinc (mW/cm2) Sensitivity (%) References
(V)

Glass Orthorhombic 10 Tungsten halogen lamp 100 ~ 250 [17]

Glass Orthorhombic 5 Visible light 100 ~ 80 [14]
Glass Orthorhombic 5 LED (750 nm) 38 260 [64]
Glass Orthorhombic 5 LED (750 nm) 38 170 [65]
SiO2/Si Orthorhombic 0.1 Red light (650 nm) – ~ 0.28 [1]
SiO2/Si Orthorhombic 2 405 nm 50 ~ 70 [60]
445 nm ~ 70
532 nm ~ 130
632 nm ~ 70
SiO2/Si Orthorhombic 1 Laser (650 nm) 166 ~ 21 [61]
SiO2/Si Orthorhombic 1 Laser (808 nm) 71 ~ 8 [62]
SiO2/Si Orthorhombic 5 (532 nm) 19.69 ~ 4 [63]
(650 nm) 28.47 ~ 5
(850 nm) 21.11 ~ 3
PET Orthorhombic 5 LED (380 nm) 31 374 This work
PET Orthorhombic 5 LED (530 nm) 25 345 This work
PET Orthorhombic 5 LED (750 nm) 38 404 This work
PET Orthorhombic 5 LED (850 nm) 55 312 This work

13
Flexible and high‑performance broadband nanoflowers tin sulfide photodetector Page 7 of 8  958
of the nanostructured layer during the deposition process.
This finding corroborates with the findings of rise and decay
times.
In the photoconduction mechanism, the oxygen mol-
ecules’ adsorption/desorption processes occurring over
the surface of the semiconductor (SnS film) in dark and
under illumination play a significant importance. In the
literature, the majority carriers in p-type semiconductors
(HfS, SnS, CuO, and CdTe) are mainly holes. When the
SnS photodetector surface is exposed to air, the oxygen
molecules will be adsorbed onto its surface, and hence,
free electrons will be captured from the surface, resulting
in an increase in hole concentration (current increases)
[69–71]. The oxygen molecules adsorption process can be
expressed by the following reaction [68]:
O2 (g) + e− → O−2 (ads). (9)
When the light with sufficient energy (above SnS-film
energy gap) falls on a photodetector device, electron–hole
pairs are generated [68]:
hv → e− + h+ . (10)
The oxygen ions ­(O 2 − ) will capture electrons that
migrate to the SnS-film surface. Thus, the hole concentra-
tion increases, and hence, the photocurrent increases [70].
This research work demonstrates the great significance
of the solution pH during the deposition process on the
growth rate of SnS nanostructured layer with tunable
characteristics, particularly of interest for photodetector
devices. The photoresponse results manifest the suitability
of the fabricated tin sulfide nanoflower-based device as a
high-quality photodetector or photoswitch.
5 Conclusion
A novel broadband photodetector based on SnS nanoflow-
ers film deposited onto PET flexible substrate has been
successfully fabricated by a simple and effective low-cost
CBD method. This photodetector manifests good pho-
toresponse characteristics (responsivity, sensitivity, and
photoresponse time) over broad range UV–Vis–NIR. The
proposed approach will pave the way to explore future
potential applications of the nanoflowers-SnS/flexible-PET
in the field of broad range response photodetectors, and
flexible optoelectronics.
Acknowledgements  The authors are very thankful to Nano-Optoelec-
tronics Research Laboratory—Universiti Sains Malaysia and Minis-
try of Science and Technology Iraq for their financial support to this
research project.
References
1. F. Lu, J. Yang, R. Li, N. Huo, Y. Li, Z. Wei, J. Li, J. Mater.
Chem. C 3, 1397–1402 (2015)
2. Z. Zheng, L. Gan, H. Li, Y. Ma, Y. Bando, D. Golberg, T. Zhai,
Adv. Funct. Mater. 25, 5885–5894 (2015)
3. R. Dong, C. Bi, Q. Dong, F. Guo, Y. Yuan, Y. Fang, Z. Xiao, J.
Huang, Adv. Opt. Mater. 2, 549–554 (2014)
4. Y. Tao, X. Wu, W. Wang, J. Wang, J. Mater. Chem. C Mater.
Opt. Electron. Devices 3, 1347–1353 (2015)
5. X. Hu, X. Zhang, L. Liang, J. Bao, S. Li, W. Yang, Y. Xie, Adv.
Funct. Mater. 24, 7373–7380 (2014)
6. Z. Deng, D. Han, Y. Liu, Nanoscale 3, 4346–4351 (2011)
7. E.C. Greyson, J.E. Barton, T.W. Odom, Small 2, 368–371
(2006)
8. B. Ghosh, M. Das, P. Banerjee, S. Das, Solid State Sci. 11,
461–466 (2009)
9. X. Wang, W. Song, B. Liu, G. Chen, D. Chen, C. Zhou, G. Shen,
Adv. Funct. Mater. 23, 1202–1209 (2013)
10. G. Chen, W. Wang, C. Wang, T. Ding, Q. Yang, Adv. Sci. 2,
1500109 (2015)
11. Y. Pei, R. Pei, X. Liang, Y. Wang, L. Liu, H. Chen, J. Liang,
Sci. Rep. 6, 21551 (2016)
12. A. Tanu Sevski, D. Poelman, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cell. 80,
297–303 (2003)
13. G.H. Yue, D.L. Peng, P.X. Yan, L.S. Wang, W. Wang, X.H. Luo,
J. Alloys Compd. 468, 254–257 (2009)
14. M. Patel, I. Mukhopadhyay, A. Ray, Opt. Mater. 35, 1693–1699
(2013)
15. K. Hartman, J.L. Johnson, M.I. Bertoni, D. Recht, M.J. Aziz,
M.A. Scarpulla, T. Buonassisi, Thin Solid Films 519, 7421–
7424 (2011)
16. S. Cheng, G. Conibeer, Thin Solid Films 520, 837–841 (2011)
17. C. Gao, H. Shen, L. Sun, Appl. Surf. Sci. 257, 6750–6755 (2011)
18. M.S. Mahdi, K. Ibrahim, A. Hmood, N.M. Ahmed, F.I. Mustafa,
J. Electron. Mater. 46, 4227–4235 (2017)
19. F. Gode, E. Guneri, O. Baglayan, Appl. Surf. Sci. 318, 227–233
(2014)
20. Y. Jayasree, U. Chalapathi, V.S. Raja, Thin Solid Films 537,
149–155 (2013)
21. D. Avellaneda, G. Delgado, M.T.S. Nair, P.K. Nair, Thin Solid
Films 515, 5771–5776 (2007)
22. C. Inderjeet Kaur, D.K. Pandya, K.L. Chopra, J. Electrochem.
Soc. 127, 943–948 (1980)
23. Y.-T. Nien, I.-G. Chen, J. Alloy. Compd. 471(1–2), 553–556
(2009)
24. H. Moualkia, S. Hariech, M.S. Aida, N. Attaf, E.L. Laifa, J.
Phys. D Appl. Phys. 42(13), 135404 (2009)
25. A. Tanuŝevski, Semicond. Sci. Technol. 18, 501–505 (2003)
26. E. Guneri, C. Ulutas, F. Kirmizigul, G. Altindemir, F. Gode, C.
Gumus, Appl. Surf. Sci. 257, 1189–1195 (2010)
27. M.T.S. Nair, P.K. Nail, Semicond. Sci. Technol. 6, 132–134
(1991)
28. A. Gómez, H. Martínez, M. Calixto-Rodríguez, D. Avellaneda,
P.G. Reyes, O. Flores, Appl. Surf. Sci. 275, 273–277 (2013)
29. H. Martínez, D. Avellaned, Nuclear Instrum. Methods Phys.
Res. B 272, 351–356 (2012)
30. A. Gómez, H. Martínez, M. Calixto-Rodríguez, D. Avellaneda,
P. Guillermo Reyes, O. Flores, J. Mater. Sci. Eng. B 3(6), 352–
358 (2013)
31. H.-Y. He, J. Fei, J. Lu, Mater. Manuf. Process. 29, 1044–1049
(2014)
32. C. Gao, H. Shen, Thin Solid Films 520, 3523–3527 (2012)
33. H.-Y. Hen, J. Fei, J. Lu, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 24,
90–95 (2014)
13
 958   Page 8 of 8
34. M. Devika, N. Koteeswara Reddy, K. Ramesh, H.R. Sumana, K.R.
Gunasekhar, E.S.R. Gopal, K.T. Ramakrishna Reddy, Semicond.
Sci. Technol. 21, 1495–1501 (2006)
35. M.S. Mahdi, K. Ibrahim, N.M. Ahmed, A. Kadhim, S.A. Azzez,
M. Bououdina, Mater. Res. Express 4, 105033 (2017)
36. A. Antony, K.V. Murali, R. Manoj, M.K. Jayaraj, Mater. Chem.
Phys. 90, 106–110 (2005)
37. T.L. Chu, S.S. Chu, N. Schultz, C. Wang, C.Q. Wu, J. Electro-
chem. Soc. 139, 2443–2446 (1992)
38. W.-L. Liu, C.-S. Yang, S.-H. Hsieh, W.-J. Chen, C.-L. Fern, Appl.
Surf. Sci. 264, 213–218 (2012)
39. K.T.R. Reddy, P.P. Reddy, Mater. Lett. 56, 108–111 (2002)
40. M. Devika, N. Koteeswara Reddy, K. Ramesh, R. Ganesan, K.R.
Gunasekhar, E.S.R. Gopal, K.T. Ramakrishna Reddy, J. Electro-
chem. Soc. 154, H67–H73 (2007)
41. Z. Lou, L. Li, G. Shen, Nanoscale 8, 5219–5225 (2016)
42. M.S. Mahdi, K. Ibrahim, A. Hmood, N.M. Ahmed, F.I. Mustafa,
S.A. Azzez, Mater. Lett. 200, 10–13 (2017)
43. P. Jain, P. Arun, J. Semicond. 43, 093004 (2013)
44. J.I. Pankove, Optical Processes in Semiconductors (PHI, New
York, 1971).
45. J. Tauc, “Amorphous and Liquid Semiconductors, J. Tauc. (Ple-
num, London, 1974).
46. A.H. Clark, Polycrystalline and Amorphous Thin Films and
Devices, Kazmerski L. (Academic Press, New York, 1980).
47. T. Srinivasa, M. Kumar, RSC Adv. 6, 95680 (2016)
48. O. Lopez-Sanchez, D. Lembke, M. Kayci, A. Radenovic, A. Kis,
Nat. Nanotechnol. 8, 497–501 (2013)
49. L. Hu, J. Yan, M. Liao, H. Xiang, X. Gong, L. Zhang, X. Fang,
Adv. Mater. 24, 2305–2309 (2012)
50. N. Naderi, M.R. Hashim, J. Alloys Compd. 552, 356–362 (2013)
51. L. Liao, Z. Zhang, B. Yan, Z. Zheng, Q.L. Bao, T. Wu, C.M. Li,
Z.X. Shen, J.X. Zhang, H. Gong, J.C. Li, T. Yu, Nanotechnology
20, 85203 (2009)
52. R.N. Koteeswara, M. Devika, K.R. Gunasekhar, Thin Solid Films
558, 326–329 (2014)
53. N. Satoa, M. Ichimuraa, E. Araia, Y. Yamazaki, Sol. Energy
Mater. Sol. Cells 85, 153–165 (2005)
54. Z. Zang, A. Nakamura, J. Temmyo, Opt. Express 21, 11448–
11456 (2013)
13
M. S. Mahdi et al.
55. C. Hillsum, Electron. Lett. 10, 259–260 (1974)
5 6. M.S. Mahdi, K. Ibrahim, N.M. Ahmed, A. Hmood, F.I. Mustafa,
S.A. Azzez, M. Bououdina, J. Alloy. Comp. 735, 2256–2262
(2018)
57. P. Kumar, N. Saxena, S. Dewan, F. Singh, V. Gupta, RSC Adv. 6,
114980–114988 (2016)
58. M.S. Mahdi, K. Ibrahim, N.M. Ahmed, A. Hmood, S.A. Azzez,
F.I. Mustafa, M. Bououdina, Mater. Lett. 210, 279–282 (2018)
59. T.H. Sajeesh, C.S. Kartha, C. Sanjeeviraja, T. Abe, Y. Kashiwaba,
K.P. Vijayakumar, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 43, 445102 (2010)
60. V. Vinayakumar, S. Shaji, D. Avellaneda, J.A. Aguilar-Martìnez,
B. Krishnan, RSC Adv. 8, 31055–31065 (2018)
61. J. Wang, G. Lian, Z. Xu, C. Fu, Z. Lin, L. Li, Q. Wang, D. Cui,
C.-P. Wong, A.C.S. Appl, Mater. Interfaces 8, 9545–9551 (2016)
62. G. Liu, Y. Li, B. Li, H. Tian, C. Fan, Y. Zhang, Z. Hua, M. Wang,
H. Zheng, E. Li, J. Mater. Chem. C 6, 10036–10041 (2018)
63. Q. Li, A. Wei, J. Lu, L. Tao, Y. Yang, D. Luo, J. Liu, Y. Xiao, Y.
Zhao, J. Li, Adv. Electron. Mater. 4, 1800154 (2018)
64. H. Tian, C. Fan, G. Liu, S. Yuan, Y. Zhang, M. Wang, E. Li, Appl.
Surf. Sci. 487, 1043–1048 (2019)
65. M.S. Mahdi, A. Hmood, K. Ibrahim, N.M. Ahmed, M. Bououdina,
Superlattice. Microst 128, 170–176 (2019)
66. M.S. Mahdi, K. Ibrahim, N.M. Ahmed, A. Hmood, S.A. Azzez,
Solid State Phenom. 290, 220–224 (2019)
67. L. Li, Y. Zhang, X. Fang, T. Zhai, M. Liao, X. Sun, Y. Koide, Y.
Bandoa, D. Golberg, J. Mater. Chem. 21, 6525–6530 (2011)
68. H. Kind, H. Yan, B.L. Messer, M. Law, P. Yang, Adv. Mater. 14,
158–160 (2002)
69. D.-H. Xie, F.-F. Wang, H. Lü, M.-Y. Du, W.-J. Xu, Chin. Phys. B
22, 58103 (2013)
70. W.-W. Xiong, J.-Q. Chen, X.-C. Wu, J.-J. Zhu, J. Mater. Chem. C
3, 1929–1934 (2015)
71. Y. Tao, J. Chen, J. Wu, Y. Wu, X. Wu, J. Alloys Compd. 658, 6–11
(2016)
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.