Role of copper/vanadium on the optoelectronic properties of reactive RF magnetron sputtered NiO thin films

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.