Investigating the physicochemical characteristics of monovalent metal-doped nickel oxide thin films

Abstract

The effect of Ag doping on the optical, structural, and electrical properties of deposited Ni1-xAgxO thin films deposited on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis has been studied. This work aims to investigate the optical and physical characteristics variations of Ni1- xAgxO thin films fabricated into semiconductors with varying doping levels x. The values of 0 at.%, 2 at.%, 4 at.%, 6 at.%, and 8 at.% are these levels. The transmission spectra demonstrate the good optical transparency of the Ni1-xAgxO thin films in the visible range of 70% to 85%. The thin films of Ni1-xAgxO exhibited optical gap energies ranging from 3.63 to 3.71eV. Between 329 and 430meV was the range of the Urbach energy. Nonetheless, numerous flaws with the highest Urbach energy are observed in Ni0.92Ag0.08O thin films. The lowest optical gap energy is found in Ni0.92Ag0.08O thin sheets. A maximum of 0.024(Ω.cm)-1 electrical conductivity was observed in the Ni0.92Ag0.08O thin films. Our films have an average electrical conductivity of approximately 0.0176(Ω.cm)-1 . The Ni1- xAgxO thin film XRD patterns show that the films have a cubic structure and are polycrystalline.