Temperature dependent optical properties of $\varepsilon$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ thin films

Abstract

We determined the complex dielectric functions of $\varepsilon$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ using optical transmittance and reflectance spectroscopies at temperatures from 10 K to room temperature. The measured dielectric-function spectra reveal distinct structures at a bandgap energy. We fitted a model dielectric function based on the electronic energy-band structure to these experimental data. We analyzed the temperature dependence of the band-gap with a model based on phonon dispersion effects. One could explain it in terms of phonon-related parameters such as the optical phonon temperature. We compare phonon-related properties of $\varepsilon$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ with those of a large variety of element and binary semiconductors.