Effects of hydrogen annealing temperature on the structural and physical properties of In1.925Cr0.05Cu0.025O3 thin films

Highlight• The impacts of hydrogen annealing on the structural and physical properties of In_1.925Cu_0.025Cr_0.05O₃ are reported. • The hydrogen annealing temperature affected the film crystallization and phase formation. • At T_H = 400 °C the film is single phase and exhibited semiconducting behavior. • The optical band gap decreased from 3.67 eV for film annealed at T_H = 400 °C to 3.0 eV for film annealed at T_H = 600 °C. • The magnetization increased for film annealed at T_H = 400 and 500 °C while it disappeared at T_H = 600 °C. The structural, optical, electrical and magnetic properties of In_1.95Cr_0.05Cu_0.025O₃ thin film annealed in hydrogen at different temperature (T_H = 300, 400, 500, and 600 °C) were investigated. The film was amorphous at T_H = 300 °C and had single phase In₂O₃ at T_H = 400 °C, while mixed phases of In₂O₃, In and CuCr₂O₄ were observed at T_H = 500 and 600 °C. At T_H = 400 °C the film showed semiconducting like behavior. The film's transparency decreased with increasing T_H, and optical band gap decreased from 3.67 eV for film annealed at T_H = 400 °C to 3.0 eV for film annealed at T_H = 600 °C. The magnetization increased for film annealed at T_H = 400 and 500 °C while it disappeared at T_H = 600 °C. The structural and physical properties were discussed and compared with that for film annealed in air at T_Air = 500 °C.