Effects of deposition temperature on microstructure, cation distribution and electrical properties of Mn1.56Co0.96Ni0.48O4 thin films grown by RF magnetron sputtering

Abstract

In this work, Mn1.56Co0.96Ni0.48O4 (MCN) thin films have been deposited at 200 °C, 400 °C and 750 °C by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The crystallinity properties and surface morphologies of the films are greatly influenced by the deposition temperature according to the XRD and FESEM results. The ionic valence states of Mn, Co and Ni were observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the cations distribution and formulas of the MCN films are determined. The Mn3+/Mn4+ ratio increases with the higher deposition temperature, and the films deposited at 400 °C shows maximum concentration of Mn3+-Mn4+ pairs. The results of electrical properties reveal that the resistivity of the MCN films falls down with increasing deposition temperature, while all films possess similar characteristic temperature and activation energy. The deposition temperature dependent resistivity mechanism of the MCN films was further analyzed and discussed based on the crystallinity and XPS results. This study will improve the understanding of the deposition temperature effects on MCN films, which is valuable to its better application in uncooled IR detection.