Journal article

Publication year: 2018

Journal: physica status solidi (b) – basic solid state physics

Volume number: 255

Issue number: 3

ISSN: 0370-1972

eISSN: 1521-3951

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/pssb.201700463

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
Epitaxial NixO thin films were grown on c-plane (0001) sapphire substrates by ion beam sputtering (IBS) of a Ni metal target in a mixed argon and oxygen atmosphere. The composition of the film was varied systematically by varying the O-2:Ar ratio in the IBS process. Structural characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. All the NixO samples grew (111)-oriented out-of-plane and with a defined two-fold in-plane orientation relationship relative to the crystalline substrate. The surface morphologies of the samples were very similar. The chemical bonding information of the films was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showing that the composition x could be varied in a wide range of x approximate to 0.9 to 1.5. Optical characterization yielded a strong dependence of the spectral dispersion of the refractive index and the band gap of NixO on composition for this otherwise structurally very similar series of samples. The dependence of the refractive index of NixO on composition x contributes significantly to the wide range of values reported for NixO in literature.

Harvard Citation style: Becker, M., Michel, F., Polity, A. and Klar, P. (2018) Impact of Composition x on the Refractive Index of Ni_xO, physica status solidi (b) – basic solid state physics, 255(3), Article 1700463. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssb.201700463

APA Citation style: Becker, M., Michel, F., Polity, A., & Klar, P. (2018). Impact of Composition x on the Refractive Index of Ni_xO. physica status solidi (b) – basic solid state physics. 255(3), Article 1700463. https://doi.org/10.1002/pssb.201700463