Deposition and properties of nickel oxide films produced by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

Nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were prepared on Si substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering from a nickel metal target in Ar+O2 with the relative O2 content varied from 15 to 50%. The effects of the O2 gas content on the deposition rate, structure, composition and electrical properties were investigated. NiO stoichiometric films were obtained with a polycrystalline structure and a specific resistivity of near 300 Ωcm at 25% O2 content in the discharge gas. Film composition and structure, and this resistivity, were dependent on the discharge parameters. Thus the deposited films had amorphous and polycrystalline structures with Ni\O ratio ranges between 0.71 and 1.02 as a function of the discharge O2 content.