Thin films of pure yttrium oxide (Y2O3) and doped with cerium oxide (CeO2) were prepared by the chemical spray pyrolysis(CSP)method. The structural, optical and electrical properties of the prepared films were investigated. The analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) thin films revealed that the undoped and doped Y2O3 were amorphous with a broad hump around 27o and narrow humps around 48o and 62o for all samples. Except for the Y2O3:6wt.%CeO2 thin film, all had signal preferential orientation along the (100) plane at 2θ=12.71o which belongs to CeO2, Field emission scanning electron microscopic (FE-SEM) images confirmed the formation of the nanosized particles which resembles circles and others revealed rods and balls shape. UV-Vis spectra study showed peak absorption at a wavelength of 305 nm, with blue shift due to quantum confinement, and this also happened for the doped films, with direct energy band gaps. The photoluminescence spectra (PL) of undoped Y2O3 and doped thin films showed an emission peak at 365 nm at the same wavelength of all the prepared samples with a slight difference. All prepared films show three activation energies except Y2O3:6wt.%CeO2 film has two activation energies. From I-V characteristic curves, the prepared films have Schottky behavior except Y2O3:6wt.%CeO2 film, which displayed ohmic behavior. Y2O3:6wt.%CeO2 fabricated device revealed good photosensitivity for VIS and IR wavelength.
