Effect of annealing atmosphere on the electrical properties of nickel oxide/zinc oxide p–n junction grown by sol–gel technique

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were prepared on glass substrates by a sol–gel method. Spin coating was used to fabricate a p-NiO/n-ZnO junction. The influence of the post annealing atmosphere (air or nitrogen) on the microstructure and surface morphology of NiO and ZnO thin films and the p-NiO/n-ZnO junction are examined. The structural properties are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the surface morphology of the thin films and the p–n junction are investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Optical properties are investigated by UV–visible spectroscopy and the electrical properties, such as I–V photocurrent, are characterized by a voltage source meter instrument. XRD patterns show that the films are polycrystalline with preferred orientation in the (002) direction for the ZnO films and the (200) direction for the NiO films. The AFM results indicate that the morphology of the ZnO and NiO films and the p-NiO/n-ZnO junction are mainly influenced by the annealing atmosphere. All films have a high optical transmittance of about 80% in the visible region and a sharp absorption edge. The optical band gaps of the two materials change with the annealing atmosphere (air or nitrogen). The p-NiO/n-ZnO heterojunction device has an average transmittance of over 80% in the visible region, which lies between the transmittance of the ZnO and NiO films separately. The ideality factor, barrier height, and series resistance of the heterojunction treated in different annealing atmospheres are determined by using conventional forward bias I–V characteristics and also Norde׳s and Cheung׳s methods.