ABSTRACT
Utilizing radio frequency magnetron sputtering, we successfully fabricated nickel oxide thin films with different thickness (from 80 to 270 nm), and conducted an in-depth examination of their structural, morphological, optical, and electrical properties. The crystal structure and surface roughness were determined using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The XRD analyses showed that the films were composed of cubic nickel oxide, exhibiting a notable orientation along the (200) direction. This crystal texture partially increased when the film thickness reached 270 nm. In addition, a direct correlation between film thickness and crystallite size was observed, with the latter increasing as the former did. AFM analysis provided insights into the surface morphology, revealing metrics like the bearing area, 3D surfaces intersections, and statistical properties of surface height. These insights underscore the relationship between film thickness and surface properties, which in turn influence the overall electrical, and prominently, optical properties of the films. Employing transmittance UV-visible spectroscopy, we characterized the optical behavior of these films, noting a proportional increase in refractive index with film thickness. Additionally, resistivity was observed to increase concomitantly with film thickness. In conclusion, the deposition process's film thickness acts as a pivotal parameter for fine-tuning the structural, morphological, and optical properties of nickel oxide thin films. This knowledge paves the way for optimizing nickel oxide-based devices across various applications. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: We synthesized and characterized of p-type semiconducting NiO thin films sputtered on substrates by using RF magnetron sputtering with different thickness. Advanced crystalline structures and fractal features extracted from XRD and AFM analysis. The 2D and 3D surface analysis of the samples indicates a complex structure with an imperfect self-similarity that suggests a multifractal structure. We represented graphically the relative representation of higher geometric objects in the AFM image. We attributed the optical and electrical properties of the samples to the crystallite size, and the concurrent reduction in oxygen vacancies and crystalline defects within the films.
ABSTRACT
In this work, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique was used to characterize 3D MgF2 thin film surfaces through advanced analysis involving morphological, fractal, multifractal, succolarity, lacunarity and surface entropy (SE) parameters, consistent with ISO 25178-2: 2012. Samples were synthesized by electron beam deposition, grown in three different temperatures. Three different temperatures of 25°C (laboratory temperature), 150 and 300°C were chosen. The temperature of 300°C is usually the highest temperature that can be deposited with the electron beam evaporation coating system. The substrates were made of glass (diameter 16 mm, thickness 3 mm), and the samples were prepared at a pressure of 5 × 10-5 Torr. The statistical results from the AFM images indicate that topographic asperities decrease with increasing deposition temperature, showing a decrease in roughness values. Regardless of the deposition temperature, all surfaces have a self-similar behavior, presenting a very linear PSD distribution, and, according to our results, the sample deposited at 300° had the highest spatial complexity. On the other hand, surface percolation is increasing when temperature increases, indicating that its low roughness and high spatial complexity play an important role on the formation of their most percolating surface microtexture. Our results demonstrate that the lower deposition temperature promoted the formation of less discontinuous height distributions in the MgF2 films.
