Preparation of delafossite CuFeO2 thin films by rf-sputtering on conventional glass substrate

CuFeO2 is a delafossite-type compound and is a well known p-type semiconductor. The growth of delafossite CuFeO2 thin films on conventional glass substrate by radio-frequency sputtering is reported. The deposition, performed at room temperature leads to an amorphous phase with extremely low roughness and high density. The films consisted of a well crystallized delafossite CuFeO2 after heat treatment at 450 deg C in inert atmosphere. The electrical conductivity of the film was 1 mS/cm. The direct optical band gap was estimated to be 2 eV.