Fe doping effects in MgO thin films grown with SILAR technique

Magnesium oxide (MgO) thin films were grown by successive ionic layer adsorption reaction (SILAR). As a result of Fe doping, modifications of the morphological, structural and optical properties of MgO thin films were reported. UV–Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses were performed to investigate the consequences of Fe doping. The energy band gap for the un-doped MgO and Fe doped MgO thin films were obtained to be between 3.57 and 4.00 eV. The density of PL spectrum peaks were observed to decrease with the addition of Fe which shifted to the UV region of the spectrum. The XRD measurement of MgO thin films were of nanostructures which possess a cubic structure with order of planes (200) and (220). The SEM measurements of the thin films were of nano structure. All in all, pure MgO and Fe doped MgO nanostructures were successfully produced in the light of variable characterization techniques. •Pure MgO and Fe doped thin films were grown on glass with SILAR method.•Doping Fe affects the morphology, structure and optical properties of MgO thin films grown by the SILAR method.•The effect of Fe content on thin films grown by SILAR method was investigated.