The influence of process parameters and annealing temperature on the physical properties of sputtered NiO thin films

The oxygen content in the gas mixture and post-deposition annealing temperature are important parameters affecting the structural properties and surface morphology of thin NiO films. These films were produced by reactive DC magnetron sputtering on Si and alumina substrates. The oxygen content varied from 20% to 60%. Thin film deposition was performed in both metallic and poisoned operation modes and controlled by the target voltage. Post-deposition annealing in the range from 500degreesC to 900degreesC was conducted for NiO films in dry air. The effect of the sputtering mode and of annealing temperature on the physical properties of thin NiO films was studied using XRD, AFM and SEM. In addition, the NiO thin films were tested in order to investigate their response to NO2 in the range 1-10 ppm at different operating temperatures. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.