Optimizing oxygen vacancy concentrations in CeO₂ thin films for enhanced photodetector sensitivity

The widespread integration of science and technology development has led to significant changes in optoelectronic devices. Researchers are rapidly expanding in search of new materials, tools and applications. In this context, cerium oxide (CeO) appears to be a promising product due to its tunable properties. Doping CeO2 with elements such as Al, Co, In, Mn and Y improves its optical, structural, functional, morphological and electrical properties, making it ideal for optoelectronics and harvesting power. This study shows that doped CeO2 films maintain a single-phase cubic fluorite or sphalerite structure with minimal lattice distortion. Various morphological patterns were received as spherical (ADC), white sponge (CDC), golf ball (IDC), bee net (MDC), and spindle (YDC) by the insertion of foreign materials into cerium lattice. FT-IR confirmed the presence of metal oxide containing small amounts of hydroxyl and carbonyl groups. Variations in morphological shapes and band gap energy, without lattice distortion by the influence of doping elements are crucial for optoelectronic advancements. These spectroscopic analysis demonstrates that the cerium oxide films prepared from indium (IDC) have unique characteristics compared with other doped films. [Display omitted] •The emergence of stretching and bending vibrations of the phonon band of the metal oxide network (M − O) strongly authenticates existence in the ADC, IDC, and YDC films compared with MDC and CDC films owing to the exceptional crystalline behavior.•The band gap enlargement and shrinkage were observed for the doped ceria films.•The optimum barrier height values were comparable to an ideal diode range from 0.6-0.8 eV, while the barrier height values are found as 0.562-0.72 eV and 0.648-0.811 eV for dark and light conditions.•These developments demonstrate (IDC) thin films the potential for advanced photodetector applications.