Effects of partial substitution of cations on electrical properties of Mn-Co-Ni-O thin films

Mn-Co-Ni-O thin films have important usage values, and their extensive applications require further improvement of the electrical properties. The cations of Mn-Co-Ni-O thin films were partially substituted by Sb, Rh, Sc, and Cu elements individually, and the Cu-incorporated thin film was found to have the best electrical property to be applicable. In order to improve the anti-aging property of the Cu-incorporated thin film, the Sc element was added into it, which effectively slowed down the aging rate, and the mechanisms were explained. According to the analysis of XPS spectra, it was found that the conduction mechanism was still the electron hopping conductance between Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions after the additional substitution of Cu or Cu/Sc elements in Mn-CoNi-O thin films. The Raman spectral analysis indicated that the incorporated Sc element was mainly Sc3+ ions distributed in the octahedron. However, the incorporated Cu element was mainly Cu1+ ions distributed in the tetrahedron. Published by AIP Publishing.