Nonlinear optical effects of thin layers based on ZnO:Ce nanostructures

Summary form only given. In this paper, cerium-doped zinc oxide films (ZnO:Ce) were deposited by reactive chemical pulverisation spray pyrolysis technique using zinc and cerium chloraids as precursors at temperatures up to 500 /spl deg/C. The effect of Ce concentration on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ZnO thin films were carefully investigated. These films were studied using four probe method, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurement. The X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that all films are polycrystalline in nature and clearly shows the appropriate incorporation of Ce atoms in the ZnO films. The chemical composition of the films as determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy is also reported. The ZnO layers display three major PL peaks: an UV near-band edge emission peak at 378 nm, a green emission around 510 nm, and a red emission around 650 nm. The green emission and red emission are probably associated with the oxygen vacancies and interstitial Zn ions in the ZnO lattice. The influences of Ce concentration on the nonlinear optical properties using THG technique will be presented.