Morphological, Optical, and Electrical Properties of p-Type Nickel Oxide Thin Films by Nonvacuum Deposition

Abstract

In this study, a p-type 2 at% lithium-doped nickel oxide (abbreviation L2NiO) solution was prepared using Ni(NO ₃) ₂·6H ₂O, and LiNO ₃·L2NiO thin films were deposited using an atomizer by spraying the L2NiO solution onto a glass substrate. The sprayed specimen was heated at a low temperature (140 °C) and annealed at different high temperatures and times. This method can reduce the evaporation ratio of the L2NiO solution, affording high-order nucleating points on the substrate. The L2NiO thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, and electrical properties. The figure of merit (FOM) for L2NiO thin films was calculated by Haacke’s formula, and the maximum value was found to be 5.3 × 10 ⁻⁶ Ω ⁻¹. FOM results revealed that the L2NiO thin films annealed at 600 °C for 3 h exhibited satisfactory optical and electrical characteristics for photoelectric device applications. Finally, a transparent heterojunction diode was successfully prepared using the L2NiO/indium tin oxide (ITO) structure. The current–voltage characteristics revealed that the transparent heterojunction diode exhibited rectifying properties, with a turn-on voltage of 1.04 V, a leakage current of 1.09 × 10 ⁻⁴ A/cm ² (at 1.1 V), and an ideality factor of n = 0.46.