RBS and NRA of cobalt oxide thin films prepared by the sol-gel process

This work presents a study of cobalt oxide thin films produced by the sol-gel process on aluminum and glass substrates. These films have been analyzed using two ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques: a) a standard RBS 4He 2 MeV and b) nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) using a 1 MeV deuterium beam. The 12C(d,p0)13C nuclear reaction provides information that carbon is incorporated into the film structure, which could be associated to the sinterization film process. Other film measurements such as optical properties, XRD, and SEM were performed in order to complement the IBA analysis. The results show that cobalt oxide film coatings prepared by this technique have good optical properties as solar absorbers and potential uses in solar energy applications.