Surface morphology and optical properties of Ca-Mn additive TiO2 based nano structure thin films

In this thesis, the effects of Calcium (Ca) and Manganese (Mn) additives on the structural and semiconductor properties of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanomaterial were investigated. Ca and Mn doped TiO2 based thin films were produced using sol gel spin coating method. The surface morphology of the prepared samples was examined through atomic force microscope (AFM) and nano-sized grains were determined. In addition, the average surface roughness values were examined and it was determined that the increasing Ca and Mn contribution led to a decrease in this value. The crystal structure of the films was examined using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and it was determined that the grains were spherical. Characteristic properties were analyzed by X-Ray Diffraction method (XRD) device and crystal size of the samples was calculated through Sherer equation. Transmittance, absorption and reflection graphs of the films produced by UV-VIS spectroscopy were drawn and the forbidden energy range was calculated. It was determined that Ca and Mn additions paved the way to an increase in the forbidden energy range. This study on semiconductor film production, which plays a significant role in technological applications, is especially important in that TiO2 thin films were produced as an alternative to other costly expensive production methods and enabled them to change their properties by adding different materials. As a result of this study, it is concluded that Ca and Mn additives have important effects on the morphological and optical properties of TiO2 films and the samples produced can be used in transparent conductive electrode applications, optoelectronic devices, solar cells and sensor production.