Preparation, characterization and electromagnetic interference shielding effect of Ni-doped ZnO thin films

Abstract

In the present study, nickel-doped zinc oxideZn1−xNixO thin films at different percentages along with thin films of Zinc oxide compositions were prepared by using Sol-Gel method. The effect of Ni concentration on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the Ni-ZnO and ZnO thin films were investigated. The effect of Ni contents on the crystalline structure and optical properties of the films were systematically investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), Infrared Spectrometry, UV–vis and Electromagnetic Shielding (EMI- shielding). The XRD analysis showed that both the un-doped and Ni-doped ZnO films were crystalline hexagonal structure with a preferred orientation of the crystallites along the [002] direction perpendicular to the substrate. SEM study reveals the surface of Ni-ZnO to be made of nanocrystalline particles. The FTIR shows the different vibrational interactions in the molecule. At 200–800 nm wavelength range, the optical studies of Zn1−xNixO showed that all the films were highly transparent. Although the optical band gap of the Ni-doped ZnO thin films was lower than that of the un-doped ZnO thin film. EMI shielding shows the interruption in usual working of electronic application. So, an attempt has been made to develop new shielding material with high efficiency and durability.