When a thin film is deposited by physical vapour deposition, with the vapour
flux arriving at an oblique angle from the substrate normal, and under
conditions of sufficiently limited adatom mobility to create a columnar
microstructure, the resulting structure is somewhat porous and grows at an
angle inclined toward the vapour source. This technique called glancing
angle deposition was used in this work to grow nanocrystalline cuprous oxide
thin films by annealing in air of copper films deposited firstly by this
method onto glass substrates. The films were characterized for their
structural, surface morphological, compositional; electrical and optical
properties by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy
(SEM), electrical resistivity and optical (transmittance and reflectance)
measurement techniques. It was found that the above properties were strongly
dependent on the obliquely angle deposition. The nanocrystallite size in
these films was varied by varying the obliquely angle deposition. Optical
studies show a direct allowed transition around in the range 1.5–1.85 eV for
the annealed films. An enhancement in the oxidation process was observed for
high obliquely angles deposition.