COPPER-OXIDE THIN-FILMS PREPARED FROM COPPER DIPIVALOYLMETHANATE AND OXYGEN BY CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION

Polycrystalline copper oxide thin films have been prepared from copper dipivaloylmethanate and oxygen by an atmospheric-pressure chemical va por deposition method at a reaction temperature of 300 degrees C. The deposition at oxygen partial pressure (p(0)) less than or equal to 2.1 3 kPa forms single-phase Cu2O with [100] oriented polycrystalline stru cture, in which Cu+ is partially substituted by Cu2+ in proportion to the increase in oxygen partial pressure from 1.06 kPa. The optical ene rgy gap decreases from 2.5 to 1.8 eV with the increasing Cu2+ fraction in the film. At p(0) greater than or equal to 2.48 kPa, the crystalli ne CuO is formed with nonoriented crystalline Cu2O The content of the CuO phase markedly increase with increasing oxygen partial pressure.