Journal of Surface Engineered Materials and Advanced Technology · 2011 · 91 citations · 29 references
Natural SciencesMaterials EngineeringMaterials ScienceElectronic MaterialsMaterials PhysicsThin FilmsNanomaterial CharacterizationOxide SemiconductorsThin Film AnnealingThin Film Electrical PropertiesThin Film Optical PropertiesThin Film Surface MorphologyAnnealing Temperature EffectsAnnealing Time EffectsBand GapNanocrystalline MaterialsNanocrystalline Thin FilmsNickel OxidesSemiconducting CrystalsSemiconducting Oxide Materials
Sol gel spin coating method has been successfully employed for the deposition of nanocrystalline nickel oxide (NiO) thin films. The films were annealed at 400°C - 700°C for 1 h in an air and changes in the structural, morphological, electrical and optical properties were studied. The structural properties of nickel oxide films were studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD analysis shows that all the films are crystallized in the cubic phase and present a random orientation. Surface morphology of the nickel oxide film consists of nanocrystalline grains with uniform coverage of the substrate surface with randomly oriented morphology. The electrical conductivity showed the semiconducting nature with room temperature electrical conductivity increased from 10-4 to 10-2(Ωcm)-1 after annealing. The decrease in the band gap energy from 3.86 to 3.47 eV was observed after annealing NiO films from 400oC - 700oC. These mean that the optical quality of NiO films is improved by annealing.
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Synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials
C. N. R. Rao, S. R. C. Vivekchand, Kanishka Biswas et al. · Dalton Transactions · 2007 · 341 citations