IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I. VOL.22 (4) 2009 The Alternative Electrical Properties of (Al -CdSe0.8Te0.2- Al) Capacitor at Room Temperature G.J. Ibraheem Department of Physics, College of Education, University of ALKufa Abstract This research aims to prepare an (Al-CdSe0.8Te0.2-Al) capacitor and study the alternating electrical properties of it at room temperature, and study the possibility of using these films in electronical applications. The A.C. conductivity of as-deposited films have been measured in the frequency range (f =100Hz-400KHz), and it has shown that A.C. conductivity ( σa.c ) increases with the frequency increasing. The study of the variation of each of the capacitance and real part of the dielectric constant (Єr ) with frequency has shown that their values decrease with frequency increasing. The study of the variation of each of the imaginary part of dielectric constant (Єi ) and the loss factor with frequency has shown that their values decrease with frequency increas ing and then they began to increase. Introduction A semiconductor material is the one whose electrical properties lie in between those of insulators and good conductors. At 0K, there are no electrons in the conduction band and the valence band is completely filled[1]. The energy gap for semiconductors is less than 2eV [1, 2] and for CdSe1-xTex it has been found by many researchers like [3] that Eg=(1.46-1.745)eV for 0≤x≤1, and another researcher [4] found that Eg=(1.47-1.76)eV for 0≤x≤1. Semiconductors are considered as fundamental materials in fabricating electronic devices (diodes, transistors, integrated circuits) which are employed in building all electronic circuits[5]. Data storage with phase change materials like chalcogenide alloys is based upon the reversible switching between the amorphous and the crystalline phase [6, 7]. The reversible phase transition between the amorphous and crystalline states, which is accompanied by a considerable change in electrical resistivity, is exploited as a means to store bits of information[8, 9]. (II-VI) compounds like (CdSe1-xTex) arouse great practical interest owing to the unique properties including their high photosensitivity to electromagnetic and particular radiation [10], and the main reason of these compounds development is their big direct energy gap, so these compounds could be used in lasers and photo emitting diodes in visible range [11]. Cadmium chalcognides have been known to hold great promise in thin films photo electronic devices and photo electrochemical cells [12]. Sulphides, selenides and tellurides of cadmium find applications as photoconductors and electro optical devices [13]. A.C Electrical conductivity The electrical properties of semiconductors or insulators in thin layers under metallic electrodes are generally different from the properties of the material itself. The available experimental results about the frequency dependence of A.C. conductivity have revealed a considerable similarity of behavior for a very wide range of materials [14, 15]. The frequency dependence of a conductivity can be expressed by the empirical relation (16, 17). IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I. VOL.22 (4) 2009 σa.c (ω) ~ ω s or σa.c (ω)=Ao ω s …………(1) Where (Ao) is a constant, and (s) is not a constant for all substances, but is a function of temperature. S= d[Ln σa.c (ω) ] / d [Ln (ω) ] ……..(2) The total conductivity at a certain frequency and temperature is: σ (ω) = σa.c (ω) + σd.c ………(3) Where σd.c is a direct or continuous electrical conductivity. The preparation of (CdSe0.8Te0.2) alloy The alloy has been prepared by mixing a certain ratios of Cd, Se and Te (99.999 %) purity elements with their atomic weight 78.96, 112.40 and 127.60 respectively. The weight of each element ratio in the alloy was determined by the equation: The weight of total alloy = (the ratio of the first element in the alloy * its atomic weight) + (the ratio of the second element in the alloy * its atomic weight) +…… …….. [4]. Then the weight of each element ratio was determined by a sensitive balance (Mettler H 35 AR) and its sensitivity (10 -4 gm), then these weights have been put in a clean quartz ampoule and it has been closed, the ampoule has been put in a furnace with temperature T=823 K for four hours, then the temperature has been increased to 1023 K for three hours, and finally the temperature has been increased to 1223 K for three hours too, after that the mixed compound has been quenched in a cold water. (Al-CdSe0.8Te0.2-Al) capacitor preparing A thermal evaporation in high vacuum reaches to (10-6 mb) has been used in preparing the capacitor by using an Edward 306 system. The aluminum electrode has been deposited by using a tungsten boat then CdSe0.8Te0.2 thin films have been deposited on the Al electrode using a molybdenum (Mo) boat then the other Al electrode has been deposited on them. Thin films have been deposited with substrate temperature of 373 K with (0.3 nm/s) rate of deposition, thin films thickness was (3000±20) nm, the contribute length of electrodes was (0.8cm). A glass substrates have been used with dimensions (2.54*7.62) cm and with (12) cm thickness. A.C Conductivity measurements The (Al -CdSe0.8Te0.2-Al) capacitor has been connected to the electrical circuit as shown in figure (2) and the measurements of capacitance (C) and resistance (R) have been done by a General Radio Capacitance Bridge type (42748 Multifrequency LCR Meter Hewlet Packard). These instruments permitted measurements in the frequency range (f = 100Hz- 400kHz). During the measurements the voltage on the specimen was kept at (1 volt), and all measurements were taken at room temperature. The following equations have been used to compute the alternating electrical properties[1,5,16,17] σa.c =t /R.A ……… (5) Where t: film thickness, R: film resistance, A: effective area of the capacitor =0.5cm 2 Єr =C.t /Єo .A ………. (6) Where C: the capacitance of the capacitor, Єo: permittivity of the space Єi = t /ω Єo R A ………. (7) Where ω: the angular frequency =2 π f, f: the frequency Tan δ = Єi / Єr = 1 / ω R C ………(8) S= d[Ln σa.c (ω) ] / d [Ln (ω) ] this equation has mentioned before equation (2) [16, 17, 18] IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I. VOL.22 (4) 2009 Results and Discussion Figure (3) shows the frequency dependence of electrical conductivity (Ln σa.c vs Ln ω) ,there is an increase in σa.c values with the increase of frequency values, and it is found from this figure that alternative electrical conductivity nearly or approximately follows a power law of equation [1], with the exponential S < 1, where(S) has been computed (S = 0.9257). S is a variable depends on the temperature and its value arises in the range (1>S >0.5), the alternative electrical conductivity depends on ω at this range. Figure (4) shows the variation of capacitance with the frequency, it has shown that capacitance values decrease with the frequency increase and at the last points in the figure, the change is very small. Figure (5) shows the variation of the real part of dielectric constant (Єr) with frequency, the values of Єr decrease with frequency increase till f = 100 kHz, where at the last points the change is very small and the points try to be nearly constant. Figures (6 and 7) show the variation of imaginary part of dielectric constant (Єi) and the loss factor (Tan δ ) with frequency, the values of (Єi) and (Tan δ) decrease with frequency increase till f = 20kHz where the last points begun to increase, the behavior of (Єi and Tan δ) with frequency are similar to each other and that’s clear if we see the equation (8) where the proportion between them is direct, and the behavior of (Єr and C) with frequency are similar to each other and that’s clear if we see the equation (6) where the proportion between them is direct too. Generally, crystallization occurs by a mechanism of nucleation and growth. In such a mechanism, small crystalline nuclei form initially, which subsequently grow. The formation of nuclei can proceed at the surface / interface and / or the bulk of the material. To understand the kinetics of crystallization, the activation energy for nucleation needs to be considered first. The net change in free energy is the sum of the decrease in volume free energy due to crystallization and the increase in free energy due to the surface energy [19]. This volume change upon crystallization causes changes in the film capacitance. Depending on the equation (3) σa.c will ascendant at high frequencies and with low temperatures, whereas σd.c will ascendant at low frequencies and with high temperatures. Conclusions The (ω s) dependence of conductivity can be considered as an indication of the existence of a wide distribution of transition probabilities for charge carriers. Carriers transfer through interfaces either between the specimen and electrodes or between grain boundaries also contribute to (ω s) dependence [16]. - Successive layers of (Al -CdSe0.8Te0.2-Al) structure can be obtained by vacuum evaporation in the range of frequency (100Hz-400kHz). - At the range f = (100Hz-20kHz) where the values of loss factor decrease with frequency the material shows a good insulating properties because when Tan δ decrease the capacitor would be near to the ideal state(5 ) - This capacitor can be used in engineering applications as insulators of field effect transistor, JFET amplifier, in applying alternative current (AC) to direct current (DC) in biased transistor circuit[1]. References 1- Theraja, B.L. and Theraja, A.K., (1988), “ATEXT-Book of Electrical Technology”, Nirja Construction and Development Co. (P) Ltd., Ram Nagar, New Delhi. IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I. VOL.22 (4) 2009 ت ترجمة رفع الطبعة األولى، ،“المواد والنبائط للمهندسین الكهربائیین والفیزیائیین ” ، )1992( ،.اي .ار ،كولك الیسر -2 .جامعة البصرة ،مشاعل متي وریتا یعقوب ،رزق 3- Rassam, N.T., (2000), “Studying the Structure and Transport Electrical and Optical Properties of Evaporated CdSe1-xTex Thin Films”, Ph.D. Thesis, Baghdad University. 4- Mangalhara, J.P.; Thangaraj, R. and Angihotri, O.P., (1989), Solar Energy Materials, 00SEM 00611. جامعة دار الكتب للطباعة والنشر، ،“ فیزیاء األلكترونیات ” ،)2001(، ظفر أنورالنعمة، م ;كاع فرمانمحمد، و -5 .الموصل 6- Ovshinsky, S.R., (1968), Phys. Rev. Lett. 21, 20. 7- Libera, M. and Chen, M., (1990), Mater. Res. Soc. Bull. 15, 40. 8- Koo, Y.W.; Kim, J.H.; Cho, W.J. and Chung, H.B., (2007), Microelectron. Eng. Online: doi: 10.1016 / j. mee., (2007), 01,.245. 9- Ghanlouche, H.; Mahmoud, S.T.; Qamhieh, N.; Ahmed, S. and AL-Shamisi, H., (2008), Phys. Scr. 77 015701. 10- Ermolovich, I.B.; Parelets, A.M. and Khanat, L.N., (1986), Thin Solid Films, 143 225. 11- Solymar S.L. and Walsh D., (1998), “Electrical properties of materials”, Oxford, New York. 12- Mangalhara, J.P., (1989), “Ph. D.Thesis”, Indian Institute of Technology. 13- Padmanabha Sarma, H.; Subramanian, V.; Rangarajan, N. and Murali, K.R., (1995), “Bull. Mater. Sci.”,. 7, November, PP. 875-881 Printed in India 14- Jonscher, A.K., (1972), “J. Non-Cryst. Solids”, 8-10, 293. 15- Jonscher, A.K., (1973), “J. Phys.”, C, 6 L 235 16- Kao, K.C. and Hwang, W., (1981), “Electron Transport in Solids”,. 14, Pergamon Press. 17- Tauc,J., “Amorphous and liquid Semiconductors”, Plenum Publishing Company Ltd., London, (1974). ،“ )MgO-p2O5(دراسة الخواص البصریة والتوصیلیة المتناوبة لزجاج ” ،)1992 (،إحسان هادي عبیدالحساني، -18 .رسالة ماجستیر مقدمة إلى جامعة بغداد 19- Meinders, E.R.; Mijiritskii, A.V.; Pieterson, L. and Wuttig, M., (2006), “Optical Data Storage Phase Change Media and Recording", (Berline: Springer). a-The mask used for film deposition. b-The mask used for Al -electrodes deposition Fig. (1) The masks used in preparing the capacitor IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I. VO L.22 (4) 2009 Fig. (2) Shows the circuit diagram of alternative conductivity measurements -22 -20 -18 -16 -14 -12 6 8 10 12 14 L n a .c C o n d u c ti v it y (o h m . c m )-1 Fig. (3) Shows the frequency dependence of alternative electrical conductivity 30 40 50 60 70 100 1000 10000 100000 1000000 Frequency (HZ) C a p a ci ta n ce *1 0 ^ -9 (f a ra d ) Fig. (4) Shows the variation of capacitance with frequency Wires for cond ction LCR The lower Al electrode Film 2 CdSe0.8Te0. furnace The upper Al electrode The substrate The substrate IBN AL- HAITHAM J. FO R PURE & APPL. SC I. VOL.22 (4) 2009 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 6 8 10 12 14 Ln(W) W in(rad/s) R e a l p a rt o f d ie le c tr ic c o n s ta n t( E r) Fig. (5) Shows the variation of real part of dielectric constant Єr with frequency 3 5 7 9 11 6 9 12 15 Ln(W) W in(rad/s) Im a g in a ry p a rt o f d ie le c tr ic c o n s ta n t (E i) Fig. (6) Shows the variation of imaginary part of dielectric constant Єi with frequency 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2 0.22 6 9 12 15 Ln(W) W in HZ L o s s f ac to r Fig. (7) Shows the variation of loss factor tan δ with frequency 2009) 4 (22 المجلد مجلة ابن الھیثم للعلوم الصرفة والتطبیقیة الخواص الكهربائیة المتناوبة للمتسعة (Al-CdSe0.8Te0.2-Al) درجة حرارة الغرفةعند غصون جلیل إبراهیم ، جامعة الكوفةكلیة التربیة للبناتقسم الفیزیاء ، الخالصة عند ودراسة الخواص الكهربائیة المتناوبة لها ،Al-CdSe0.8Te0.2-Al)( یهدف هذا البحث إلى تحضیر المتسعة . لتطبیقات األلكترونیةألغشیة في اودراسة إمكانیة استخدام هذه ادرجة حرارة الغرفة، .ولوحظ أنها تزداد بزیادة التردد) f=100Hz-400KHz(التوصیلیة الكهربائیة المتناوبة في مدى الترددات قیست مع التردد أن قیمها تنخفض بزیادة یقي من ثابت العزل الكهربائي وأظهرت دراسة تغیر كل من السعة والجزء الحق مع التردد أن قیمها تنخفض من ثابت العزل الكهربائي تغیر كل من عامل الفقد والجزء الخیالي دراسة أظهرت و .التردد .بزیادة التردد ثم تبدأ بالزیادة