Structural and Optical Properties of Spin-Coated Mn$_3$O$_4$ Thin Films of Different Coating Layers

TL;DR

This study investigates how varying the number of coating layers affects the structural and optical properties of Mn$_3$O$_4$ thin films prepared by spin-coating, highlighting their potential for optical device applications.

Contribution

It provides detailed analysis of the relationship between coating layers and properties like crystallite size, band gap, and refractive index in Mn$_3$O$_4$ thin films.

Findings

Crystallite size increases with more coating layers.

Optical band gap and refractive index decrease as coating layers increase.

Films show potential for use in optical sensors and photovoltaic devices.

Abstract

In present study, Tetragonal Mn$_3$O$_4$ thin films of different coating layers of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 were prepared on the microscopic glass slides by the spin-coating method. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and ultra-violet visible spectroscopy were used to explore the structural and optical properties of Mn$_3$O$_4$ thin films. XRD patterns and Raman spectra confirm the phase of all films as tetragonal. The average crystallite size of films increased from ~17 to ~25 nm with increasing coating layers. Optical properties such as band gap, skin depth, cutoff wavelength, excitation coefficient, refractive index, etc, have been studied in detail by using ultra-violet visible spectroscopy. The direct optical band gap and refractive index of fabricated films were decreased as increasing the coating layers of Mn$_3$O$_4$. The refractive index for 2 and 4 coating layers were decreased as increasing the incident wavelength. While for 6, 8, and 10 coating layers, the values of refractive index remain constant with respect to incident wavelength. The optical analyses suggest that prepared Mn$_3$O$_4$ thin films can be used as a potential candidate for optical semiconductor devices including photovoltaic cells and optical sensors.