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• A new P-type transparent conductive LaSe 2 film with excellent photoelectric properties is found. • A novel two-step method is used to prepare LaSe 2 film. • Effect of annealing time on their photoelectric properties is investigated. • Results indicate that the best annealing time is 2 h. LaSe 2 films were prepared on sapphire (0001) substrates by combining magnetron sputtering and selenized annealing. The influence of selenized annealing time on the structures and photoelectric properties of the thin films were investigated using glancing incident X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectrometry and Hall effect measurements. The results showed that the film had a perfect monoclinic structure and a smooth surface morphology. The average transmittance in the mid-infrared range was greater than 55%, and the highest was 65%. The LaSe 2 films had a higher carrier concentration (∼1019 cm−3) and conductivity (∼1.9 S/cm) than those of other P-type transparent conductive films, which showed that LaSe 2 was a potential new P-type material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Transparent electronic technology has many urgent optoelectronic device applications. A key component of plasmonic materials in conventional semiconductors is the wide band gap of oxide thin films. Although transparent electronic materials have been developed for visible and near-infrared wavelengths, systems incorporating mid-infrared and far-infrared spectra are difficult to achieve. In this study, hydrated magnesium-carbon films, a new type of non-oxide transparent conductive thin films with a magnesium hydroxide structure, were generated using the three-step method. After annealing treatment, larger crystals in the thin films typically exhibited superior film resistivity, with conductivity values of approximately 8.63 × 10−3 Ω m. Due to the free electron concentration was not more than 1020 cm−3, the films demonstrated excellent optical properties, with plasma wavelength values of approximately 8 μm for infrared transmittance above 70%. After annealing, due to the Moss-Burstein (M-B) effect, the visible light transmittance was greater than 85% and the optical bandgap shifted towards the blue region. In addition, the influences of the sputtering power of the carbon target on the properties of hydrated magnesium-carbon film were also discussed in this paper. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • We prepare hydrated magnesium-carbon films using the three-step method. • We analyze the effect of annealing on structural, electrical, and optical features. • Annealing leads to crystal growth, superior film resistivity, and good conductivity. • Films exhibit excellent optical properties, particularly for far-infrared ranges. • The films can replace TCO in the application of optical-electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrated magnesium-carbon films fabricated in this study are the novel-innovative non-oxide-type transparent electronic material. The films, which have a structure similar to that of magnesium hydroxide, were produced by making Mg x -C y films deposited by magnetron co-sputtering react with water vapor. As the extrinsic defect of hydration magnesium-carbon films, C atoms provided redundant electrons, resulting in a conductivity of approximately 3.31 × 10 −2  Ω·cm. Although the conductivity of hydrated magnesium-carbon films is not prominent comparing to the conventional and widely-used n-type TCO materials, e.g. ITO, the films also showed excellent optical properties, which can be attributed to their low bond energy, with the infrared transmittance of the films being greater than 72% for a plasma wavelength of approximately 10 μm. By varying the atomic C content of the films, a visible-region transmittance greater than 80% could be realized. The optical bandgap of the films was approximately 4.04–6.87 eV and was blue-shifted because of the Moss-Burstein effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]