EFFECT OF THICKNESS ON THE STRUCTURAL, MICROSTRUCTURAL, ELECTRICAL AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF Ni FILMS ELABORATED BY PULSED ELECTRODEPOSITION ON Si SUBSTRATE

Abstract

We have studied the effect of thickness on the structural, microstructural, electrical and magnetic properties of Ni films electrodeposited onto [Formula: see text]-Si (100) substrates. A series of Ni films have been prepared for different potentials ranging from [Formula: see text]1.6[Formula: see text]V to [Formula: see text]2.6[Formula: see text]V. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), four point probe technique, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) have been used to investigate the physical properties of elaborated Ni thin films. From the analysis of RBS spectra, we have extracted the films thickness [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text] ranges from 83[Formula: see text]nm to 422[Formula: see text]nm). We found that the Ni thickness, [Formula: see text] (nm), linearly increases with the applied potential. The Ni thin films are polycrystalline and grow with the [Formula: see text] texture. The lattice parameter [Formula: see text] (Å) monotonously decreases with increasing thickness. However, a positive strain was noted indicating that all the samples are subjected to a tensile stress. The mean grain sizes [Formula: see text] (nm) and the strain [Formula: see text] decrease with increasing thickness. The electrical resistivity [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]cm) increases with [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] less than 328[Formula: see text]nm. The diffusion at the grain boundaries may be the important factor in the electrical resistivity. From AFM images, we have shown that the Ni surface roughness decreases with increasing thickness. The coercive field [Formula: see text], the squareness factor [Formula: see text], the saturation field [Formula: see text] and the effective anisotropy constant [Formula: see text] are investigated as a function of Ni thickness and grain sizes. The correlation between the magnetic and the structural properties is discussed.

Thickness-related variation in the structure, morphology and optical characteristics of nickel thin films for neutral density filtering

“…Crucially, the positive strain values across all samples signify the imposition of tensile stress within the films. Remarkably, this tensile stress experiences a progressive alleviation with increasing thickness, a phenomenon corroborated by the decline in strain values from 0.85% to 0.16% along the (111) plane [15]. This nuanced trend underscores a pivotal insight: the stress within the films is effectively mitigated with the augmentation of thickness, elucidating the intricate mechanics governing stress distribution within the material.…”

“…All the calculated parameters from the XRD pattern are shown in table 2 .Notably, the strain and particle size values are discerned from the slopes and intercepts of the depicted straight lines, serving as fundamental indicators of the film's structural attributes. An intriguing revelation arises from the data: as the film thickness varies from 30 nm to 70 nm, the crystallite size undergoes a discernible reduction, diminishing from 8.9 nm to 4.7 nm [15]. This reduction signifies a remarkable phenomenon-the manifestation of fine-grain growth within the material, underscoring the intricate interplay between thickness and crystalline structure.…”

“…The dislocation density (σ) of the annealed samples has been calculated using the following equation [15]:…”

“…In literatures researchers had focussed on magnetic property due to its ferromagnetic nature by using sputtering techniques. For instances, Yi et al [11], Muslim et al [12], Priyadarshini et al [13], Hajihoseini et al [14] and Kacel et al [15] reported on the structural, magnetic, and magnetoresistance properties, and morphology of Ni films deposited using DC magnetron sputtering. While nickel thin films have found diverse applications in the scientific literature, our research distinctly delves into their deployment as neutral density filters (NDF), capitalizing on their exceptional optical properties.…”

Three-Dimensional Surface Stereometric Analysis of Ni–Cu Films with Different Cu Contents

“…The Ni–Cu thin films have been the subject of many studies. Several interesting features of the Ni–Cu system have been reported. − As is known, optical properties of nanoparticles strongly depend on the morphology of the nanostructure. However, there is a dearth of advanced microtexture and fractal/multifractal analysis.…”