A study on substrate element migration and investigation of characteristic properties in Mg-doped MnS metastable thin-film composite

Abstract Undoped and magnesium-doped MnS thin films (with 1, 3, 5, and 10 wt% Mg) were synthesized on glass substrates using the spray pyrolysis technique. Structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films were studied. Powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the undoped MnS and Mg-doped MnS thin films (1%, 3%, and 5% Mg) exhibited an amorphous structure. However, when the Mg doping concentration increased to 10%, the XRD pattern showed slightly improved crystallinity, with the emergence of peaks corresponding to the hexagonal wurtzite structure ( γ -MnS). The composition of the thin-film material was analyzed using the EDS technique, which revealed the formation of a thin-film composite. In the UV–vis absorption spectra, all the MnS and Mg-doped MnS thin film composites exhibited maximum absorption around 365 nm in the ultraviolet region, with absorption gradually decreasing across the visible region (400–800 nm). The thickness and the morphology of the thin film composite were measured using the SEM technique. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) was used to study the crystallinity of the thin films. Photoluminescence (PL) was used to analyze light emission under excitation. The oxidation states of the films were analyzed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrical characteristics were evaluated through Van der Pauw Hall effect measurements.