Effect of oxygen partial pressure on the electrical and optical properties of highly (200) oriented p-type Ni1−xO films by DC sputtering

Thin films of NiO (bunsenite) with (200) preferential orientation were synthesized on glass substrates by direct current sputtering technique in Ar+O2 atmosphere. Nanostructural properties of the NiO films were investigated by X-ray diffraction and also by atomic force microscopic (AFM) studies. Electrical and optical properties of the deposited films were investigated as a function of different partial pressure of oxygen in the sputtering gas mixture during deposition. The films showed p-type electrical conduction and the conductivity depends on the partial pressure of oxygen. The electrical conductivity (σRT) was found to be .0615 S cm−1 for films deposited with 100% O2 and its value sharply decreased with the decrease the partial pressure of O2; for example σRT for 50% O2 was 6.139 × 10−5 S cm-1. The mechanism of the origin of p-type electrical conductivity in the NiO film is discussed from the viewpoint of nickel or oxygen vacancies, which generate holes and electrons respectively. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies supported the above argument. Corresponding optical properties showed that the transparency decreases with increasing oxygen partial pressure and the bandgap also decreases.