Investigations on Sn-doped Ni oxide thin films and their use as optical sensor devices

► Doping of NiO films with Sn4+ decreases lattice parameter and controls the structure. ► The Sn-doped NiO films are wide-band semiconductors with band gap 3.69-3.76 eV. ► The dielectric constant increases with increasing at.% Sn in the sample. ► The structural results show the possibility of application of core/shell model. ► It is possible to use Sn-doped NiO film as high permittivity optical-sensitive oxide.