Electronic, Optical and Electrical Properties of Nickel Oxide Thin Films Grown by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were grown on soda-lime glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering method at room temperature (RT), and they were post-annealed at the temperatures of 100 degrees C, 200 degrees C, 300 degrees C and 400 degrees C for 30 minutes in vacuum. The electronic structure, optical and electrical properties of NiO thin films were investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), reflection electron energy spectroscopy (REELS), UV-spectrometer and Hall Effect measurements, respectively. XPS results showed that the NiO thin films grown at RT and post annealed at temperatures below 300 degrees C had the NiO phase, but, at 400 degrees C, the nickel metal phase became dominant. The band gaps of NiO thin films post annealed at temperatures below 300 degrees C were about 3.7 eV, but that at 400 degrees C should not be measured clearly because of the dominance of Ni metal phase. The NiO thin films post-annealed at temperatures below 300 degrees C showed p-type conductivity with low electrical resistivity and high optical transmittance of 80% in the visible light region, but that post-annealed at 400 degrees C showed n-type semiconductor properties, and the average transmittance in the visible light region was less than 42%. Our results demonstrate that the post-annealing plays a crucial role in enhancing the electrical and optical properties of NiO thin films.