Effect of gamma irradiation on the linear and non-linear optical properties of magnetron Co-sputtered CdO–SnO2 thin films

Abstract

In this work, CdO–SnO2 thin films were deposited using the magnetron Co-sputtering technique. The presence of single-phase Cadmium Stannate (Cd2SnO4) films was verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the as-prepared and irradiated films. The obtained results reveal that crystallite size (D) increasing by gamma irradiation up to 50 kGY and then seem to be not affected by increasing the dose of gamma radiation for the different phases. The resulting dislocation density (δ) and number of crystallites per unit area (N) decreased irradiation of gamma till 50 kGY and seem to be not affected by increasing gamma irradiation. The microstrain εc did not show systematic variations with gamma dose. The refractive index of un-irradiated and irradiated films showed normal dispersion. Aurbach tail Eu, plasma frequency (ωp), and third order susceptibility χ(3) increased by irradiation and seem to be not affected by increasing gamma dose beyond 50 kGY. In contrast, the optical energy gap Eop found to be decrease by irradiation and seem to be not affected by increasing gamma dose beyond 50 kGY. Other optical parameters, including the absorption coefficient, and dispersion energies, are investigated before and after gamma irradiation.