EFFECT OF ANNEALING ON THE PROPERTIES OF VANADIUM PENTOXIDE FILMS PREPARED BY SOL–GEL METHOD

The vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) films were obtained by using sol–gel procedure and then were annealed at different temperature in air. The effect of different annealing temperatures on the composition, the microstructure, the surface morphology and the optical properties of the films were characterized by methods such as by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and spectral transmittance. The results revealed that the film annealed at 150°C has amorphous structure and dense with a smooth surface and the films annealed at 300°C and 450°C have a polycrystalline V2O5 structure with preferred growth orientation along (001) planes, the c-axis and perpendicular to the silicon substrate surface. From the spectral transmittance we determined the absorption edge using the Tauc plot. The results indicated that optical bandgap of V2O5 thin films decreased with annealing temperature.