Effect of Al Doping on Optical Band Gap Energy of Al-TiO2 Thin Films

Al-TiO2 thin films were prepared using a sol-gel derived spin coating by varying the Al/Ti molar ratio from 0 to 0.73 to investigate the effect of Al doping on the optical band gap energy (Eg) of the films. GAXRD results indicated that Al-TiO2 is composed of anatase and FTO phases when the Al/Ti molar ratio was less than 0.18. Above 0.38, no other peaks except FTO were found and transparency of the films was severely deteriorated. Eg of Al-TiO2 decreased from 3.20 eV to 2.07 eV when the Al/Ti ratio was raised from 0 to 0.38. Eg of 2.59 eV was found for the anatase Al-TiO2 films having the Al/Ti ratio of 0.18. The absorption band of Al-TiO2 coatings shifted dramatically from the UV region to the visible region with increasing the amount of Al dopant. The Al doping was mainly attributed to the optical band gap energy of Al-TiO2.