Effect of Substrate Temperature on the Optical and Electrical Properties of Nitrogen-Doped NiO Thin Films

NiO is a widely used p-type semiconductor. The desired optical and electrical properties of NiO vary in different application fields. To modulate the properties of NiO, nitrogen (N)-doped NiO thin films were synthesized by reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtering on ITO-coated glass substrates. The influence of substrate temperature on the properties of NiO was investigated. XRD studies indicated a cubic structure. With the increase of the substrate temperature, the average transmittance in the visible region gradually reduced from 90% to 50%. The bandgap energy narrowed from 3.5 to 3.08 eV. The intensity of the PL spectra weakened, and the electrical conductivity rose. Overall, changing the substrate temperature is an effective method to modulate the optical and electrical properties of N-doped NiO thin films.