A Study on the Thermodynamics of Grain Growth in R.F. Magnetron Sputtered NiO Thin Films

Abstract

Postdeposition annealing of thin nickel films synthesized using R.F. magnetron sputtering technique is carried in this study. The XRD analysis indicates that annealing of the nickel films leads to the formation of nickel oxide with a preferential growth along (200) plane. The oxidation mechanism is observed with a phase transformation and results in polycrystalline NiO films. The surface morphology of the thin films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) as a function of annealing temperature. The studies indicate the formation of well-defined grain boundaries due to agglomeration of nanocrystallites. The films annealed in the range 573–773 K are found to be porous. The optical transmission spectra of the films annealed at 773 K exhibit interference effects for photon energies below the fundamental absorption edge. The optical studies indicate the existence of direct interband transition across a bandgap of 3.7 eV in confirmation with earlier band structure calculations.

Degradation of Structure of Magnetron Ni and Cr Nanofilms at their Heating on Air

“…This reaction is corroborated by the changes that were noted in [6,7] The changes in the intensity of the most characteristic lines in Raman scattering spectrum arising at heating are presented in Fig. 5, which confirms the possible oxidizing reactions (2) and (3).…”

Electrochromic Adaptability of NiOx Films Modified by Substrate Temperature in Aqueous and Non‐Aqueous Electrolytes

“…of materials driven by applied different voltages. [ 4,5 ] Currently, various EC materials based on disparate reaction mechanism were explored, such as transition‐metal oxides, [ 6 ] Prussian blue, [ 7 ] polyaniline (PANI), [ 8 ] PEDOT, [ 9 ] viologens, conducting polymers, etc. Among these, nickel oxide (NiO x ) as the inorganic EC material is widely applied as an anodic component in electrochromic devices (ECDs), due to its remarkable optoelectronic performance and electrochemical durability.…”

Structural, Electrical and Optical Properties of NiO Nanostructured Growth Using Thermal Wet Oxidation of Nickel Metal Thin Film

“…Similarly, Zhang et al (2008) grow NiO nanoparticle on stainless steel substrate by thermal oxidation of Ni thin films with the temperature range 400 -700 °C for 4 hours [9]. Nickel films were also grown by RF sputtering on glass by Dhanya and Sasi [10], the films were annealed in air ambient at fixed temperatures range of 200 to 500 0 C for 3 hours in a furnace. In 2010, Mohanty et al deposited nickel thin film by thermal evaporation with thichness of 200 nm on ITO/glass substrate.…”