Synthesis and Characterization of Magnesium-Alloyed Hematite Thin Films

We have synthesized pure and Mg-alloyed hematite thin films on F-doped, SnO2-coated glass substrates by radiofrequency magnetron cosputtering of iron oxide with and without MgO sources in mixed Ar/O2 and mixed N2/O2 ambient. We found that hematite films deposited in N2/O2 ambient exhibited much poorer crystallinity than those deposited in Ar/O2 ambient. We determined that Mg alloying led to increased crystallinity and bandgap. Furthermore, we found that Mg alloying inverted the type of conductivity of the thin films: pure hematite thin films exhibited n-type conductivity, whereas Mg-alloyed hematite thin films exhibited p-type conductivity.