Abstract
In this study, pristine nickel oxide (NiO), copper-doped NiO (Cu–NiO) and vanadium-doped NiO (V–NiO) thin films were deposited using reactive RF magnetron co-sputtering as a function of dopant sputtering power. Cu (0–8 at%) and V (0–1 at%) were doped into the NiO lattice by varying the sputtering power of Cu and V in the range of 5–15 W. The effect of dopant concentration on optoelectronic behavior is investigated by UV–Vis–NIR spectrophotometer and Hall measurements. XRD analysis showed that the preferred orientation of the cubic phase for undoped NiO changes from (200) to (111) plane when the sputtering parameters are varied. The observed changes in the lattice parameters and bonding states of the doped NiO indicate the substitution of Ni ions by monovalent Cu and trivalent V ions. The optical bandgap of pristine NiO, Cu–NiO, and V–NiO was found to be 3.6, 3.45, and 3.05 eV, respectively, with decreased transmittance and resistivity. Further analysis using SEM and AFM described the morphological behavior of doped NiO thin films and Raman spectroscopy indicated the structural changes on doping. These findings would be helpful in fabricating solid-state solar cells using doped NiO as efficient hole transporting material.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amor MB, Boukhachem A, Boubaker K, Amlouk M (2014) Structural, optical and electrical studies on Mg-doped NiO thin films for sensitivity applications. Mater Sci Semicond Process 27:994–1006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2014.08.008
Amor MB, Boukhachem A, Labidi A et al (2017) Physical investigations on Cd doped NiO thin films along with ethanol sensing at relatively low temperature. J Alloys Compd 693:490–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.09.207
Caruge JM, Halpert JE, Wood V et al (2008) Colloidal quantum-dot light-emitting diodes with metal-oxide charge transport layers. Nat Photonics 2:247–250. https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2008.34
Chen H-L, Yang Y-S (2008) Effect of crystallographic orientations on electrical properties of sputter-deposited nickel oxide thin films. Thin Solid Films 516:5590–5596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2007.07.035
Chen HL, Lu YM, Hwang WS (2005) Characterization of sputtered NiO thin films. Surf Coat Technol 198:138–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2004.10.032
Chen SC, Kuo TY, Lin YC, Lin HC (2011) Preparation and properties of p-type transparent conductive Cu-doped NiO films. Thin Solid Films 519:4944–4947. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2011.01.058
Chen SC, Wen CK, Kuo TY et al (2014) Characterization and properties of NiO films produced by rf magnetron sputtering with oxygen ion source assistance. Thin Solid Films 572:51–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2014.07.062
Chen SC, Kuo TY, Jen SU et al (2015a) Effect of copper content on the electrical stability of nickel oxide films. Thin Solid Films 584:238–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2014.11.085
Chen TF, Wang AJ, Shang BY et al (2015b) Property modulation of NiO films grown by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. J Alloys Compd 643:167–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2015.04.139
Chou PC, Chen HI, Liu IP et al (2015) Hydrogen sensing performance of a nickel oxide (NiO) thin film-based device. Int J Hydrogen Energy 40:729–734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.10.142
Cui J, Meng F, Zhang H et al (2014) CH3NH3PbI3-based planar solar cells with magnetron-sputtered nickel oxide. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 6:22862–22870. https://doi.org/10.1021/am507108u
Denayer J, Bister G, Simonis P et al (2014) Surfactant-assisted ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of nickel oxide and lithium-doped nickel oxide thin films, toward electrochromic applications. Appl Surf Sci 321:61–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2014.09.128
Gomaa MM, Boshta M, Farag BS, Osman MBS (2016) Structural and optical properties of nickel oxide thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition and by spray pyrolysis techniques. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 27:711–717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3807-4
Gowthami V, Perumal P, Sivakumar R, Sanjeeviraja C (2014) Structural and optical studies on nickel oxide thin film prepared by nebulizer spray technique. Phys B Condens Matter 452:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physb.2014.06.030
Hassan ES, Saeed AA, Elttayef AK (2016) Doping and thickness variation influence on the structural and sensing properties of NiO film prepared by RF-magnetron sputtering. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 27:1270–1277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-3885-3
Horak P, Lavrentiev V, Bejsovec V et al (2013) Study of structural and electrical properties of thin NiOx films prepared by ion beam sputtering of Ni and subsequent thermo-oxidation. Eur Phys J B 86:470. https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2013-30969-6
Hryha E, Rutqvist E, Nyborg L (2012) Stoichiometric vanadium oxides studied by XPS. Surf Interface Anal 44:1022–1025. https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.3844
Hu L, Peng J, Wang W et al (2014) Sequential deposition of CH3NH3PbI3 on planar NiO film for efficient planar perovskite solar cells. ACS Photonics 1:547–553. https://doi.org/10.1021/ph5000067
Huo X, Jiang S, Liu P et al (2017) Molybdenum and tungsten doped SnO2 transparent conductive thin films with broadband high transmittance between the visible and near- infrared regions. Cryst Eng Comm 19:4413–4423. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ce00705a
Imran M, Ikram M, Dilpazir S et al (2017) Towards efficient and cost-effective inverted hybrid organic solar cells using inorganic semiconductor in the active layer. Appl Nanosci 7:747–752. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-017-0618-3
Irwin MD, Buchholz DB, Hains AW et al (2008) p-Type semiconducting nickel oxide as an efficiency-enhancing anode interfacial layer in polymer bulk-heterojunction solar cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci 105:2783–2787. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0711990105
Jamal RK, Aadim KA, Al-Zaidi QG, Taaban IN (2015) Hydrogen gas sensors based on electrostatically spray deposited nickel oxide thin film structures. Photonic Sens 5:235–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13320-015-0253-0
Jiang DY, Qin JM, Wang X et al (2012) Optical properties of NiO thin films fabricated by electron beam evaporation. Vacuum 86:1083–1086. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2011.10.003
Kadam LD, Patil PS (2001) Studies on electrochromic properties of nickel oxide thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis technique. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 69:361–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0927-0248(00)00403-7
Kim JH, Liang P, Williams ST et al (2015) High-performance and environmentally stable planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells based on a solution-processed copper-doped nickel oxide hole-transporting Layer. Adv Mater 27:695–701. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201404189
Li M-H, Shen P-S, Wang K-C et al (2015) Correction: inorganic p-type contact materials for perovskite-based solar cells. J Mater Chem A 3:9318–9319. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA90087E
Liu Z, Chen TP, Liu Y, Zhang S (2013) Magnetron sputtered Ni-rich nickel oxide nano-films for resistive switching memory applications. Int J Appl Ceram Technol 10:20–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7402.2012.02798.x
Lu YM, Hwang WS, Yang JS, Chuang HC (2002) Properties of nickel oxide thin films deposited by RF reactive magnetron sputtering. Thin Solid Films 420–421:54–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-6090(02)00654-5
Luo Y, Yin B, Zhang H et al (2016) Fabrication of p-NiO/n-ZnO heterojunction devices for ultraviolet photodetectors via thermal oxidation and hydrothermal growth processes. J Mater Sci Mater Electron 27:2342–2348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-015-4031-y
Manouchehri I, AlShiaa SAO, Mehrparparvar D et al (2016) Optical properties of zinc doped NiO thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering. Opt Int J Light Electron Opt 127:9400–9406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2016.06.092
Park HW, Na B-K, Cho BW et al (2013) Influence of vanadium doping on the electrochemical performance of nickel oxide in supercapacitors. Phys Chem Chem Phys 15:17626. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3cp52498a
Park JH, Seo J, Park S et al (2015) Efficient CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cells employing nanostructured p-type NiO electrode formed by a pulsed laser deposition. Adv Mater 27:4013–4019. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201500523
Patil UM, Salunkhe RR, Gurav KV, Lokhande CD (2008) Chemically deposited nanocrystalline NiO thin films for supercapacitor application. Appl Surf Sci 255:2603–2607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2008.07.192
Pereira S, Goncalves A, Correia N et al (2014) Electrochromic behavior of NiO thin films deposited by e-beam evaporation at room temperature. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 120:109–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2013.08.024
Purushothaman KK, Muralidharan G (2009) The effect of annealing temperature on the electrochromic properties of nanostructured NiO films. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 93:1195–1201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2008.12.029
Reddy AKY, Reddy SA, Reddy SP (2013a) Substrate temperature dependent properties of Cu doped NiO films deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering. J Mater Sci Technol 29:647–651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2013.03.005
Reddy AM, Reddy AS, Reddy PS (2013b) Annealing effect on the physical properties of dc reactive magnetron sputtered nickel oxide thin films. Phys Procedia 49:9–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2013.10.005
Reddy AM, Byun CW, Joo SK et al (2014) Preparation and characterization of nickel oxide thin films by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering at different substrate temperatures. Electron Mater Lett 10:887–892. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-014-2181-3
Sharma R, Acharya AD, Shrivastava SB et al (2014) Preparation and characterization of transparent NiO thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis technique. Opt Int J Light Electron Opt 125:6751–6756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2014.07.104
Shim JW, Fuentes-Hernandez C, Dindar A et al (2013) Polymer solar cells with NiO hole-collecting interlayers processed by atomic layer deposition. Org Electron Phys Mater Appl 14:2802–2808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2013.07.028
Shim HB, Kang I-K, Jeon G-J et al (2015) Controlling the infrared optical properties of rf-sputtered NiO films for applications of infrared window. Infrared Phys Technol 72:135–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infrared.2015.07.023
Steirer KX, Chesin JP, Widjonarko NE et al (2010) Solution deposited NiO thin-films as hole transport layers in organic photovoltaics. Org Electron Phys Mater Appl 11:1414–1418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2010.05.008
Steirer KX, Richards RE, Sigdel A. K et al (2015) Nickel oxide interlayer films from nickel formate–ethylenediamine precursor: influence of annealing on thin film properties and photovoltaic device performance. J Mater Chem A. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA01379H
Tian Y, Zhang X, Geng H-Z et al (2017) Carbon nanotube/polyurethane films with high transparency, low sheet resistance and strong adhesion for antistatic application. RSC Adv 7:53018–53024. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7RA10092B
Usha KS, Sivakumar R, Sanjeeviraja C et al (2016) Improved electrochromic performance of a radio frequency magnetron sputtered NiO thin film with high optical switching speed. RSC Adv 6:79668–79680. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5RA27099E
Wang K-C, Jeng J-Y, Shen P-S et al (2015) p-type mesoscopic nickel oxide/organometallic perovskite heterojunction solar cells. Sci Rep 4:4756. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04756
Weng KW, Chen YC, Lin TN et al (2013) Characterization of Ni0.92V0.08Ox thin films deposited by the pulse sputter method. Vacuum 87:169–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2012.03.003
Xu X, Liu Z, Zuo Z et al (2015) Hole selective NiO contact for efficient perovskite solar cells with carbon electrode. Nano Lett 15:2402–2408. https://doi.org/10.1021/nl504701y
Yao K, Li F, He Q et al (2017) A copper-doped nickel oxide bilayer for enhancing efficiency and stability of hysteresis-free inverted mesoporous perovskite solar cells. Nano Energy 40:155–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2017.08.014
Ye JM, Lin YP, Yang YT et al (2010) Electrochromic properties of Ni(V)Ox films deposited via reactive magnetron sputtering with a 8V-92Ni alloy target. Thin Solid Films 519:1578–1582. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2010.08.085
Acknowledgements
The authors thank MHRD, India for providing the financial support under the scheme of Centre of Excellence for Energy Research vide sanction no. 5–8/2014-TS.VIII. The contribution towards AFM characterization by Mr. D. Ramachandran, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology and XPS analysis from MNIT, Jaipur are gratefully acknowledged. One of the authors (Shyju T.S.) would like to thank FONDECYT postdoctoral program no.3160445, Govt. of Chile.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Panneerselvam, V., Chinnakutti, K., Thankaraj Salammal, S. et al. Role of copper/vanadium on the optoelectronic properties of reactive RF magnetron sputtered NiO thin films. Appl Nanosci 8, 1299–1312 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-018-0784-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13204-018-0784-y