Characterizations of nickel oxide thin films prepared by reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering

The NiO thin films were preapred by reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering method on glass substrates.The influence of sputtering power on the crystal structure, surface morphological, optical and electrical properties was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer (UV-VIS) and Hall effect tester, respectively.The as-preapred NiO thin films are polycrystalline with preferred orientation growth along (200) plane and have very high optical transmittances more than 60 %.All samples have a columnar structure with growth perpendicular to the film surface, and are dense, and homogeneous.With the increase of the sputtering power, a growth mode transformation appears from island growth to layer growth.The lowest resistivity of 2.4 Ω•cm could be obtained in our samples.An optimization electrical properties of the films can be achieved by the variation of crystal quality arises from the sputtering power.