Deposition and properties of nickel oxide films produced by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were prepared on Si substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering from a nickel metal target in Ar+O-2 with the relative O-2 content varied from 15 to 50%. The effects of the O-2 gas content on the deposition rate, structure, composition and electrical properties were investigated. NiO stoichiometric films were obtained with a polycrystalline structure and a specific resistivity of near 300 Omega cm at 25% O-2 content in the discharge gas. Film composition and structure, and this resistivity were dependent on the discharge parameters. Thus the deposited films had amorphous and polycrystalline structures with Ni/O ratio ranges between 0.71 and 1.02 as a function of the discharge O-2 content. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.