Electrical and structural properties of Ni-doped Cu2O films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

The electrical and structural properties of Ni-doped Cu2O (Cu2O:Ni) films prepared by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) from CuO:Ni targets were studied. The mass fraction of Cu2O in the films decreased with increasing Ni content. The remaining fraction was assigned to CuO by XRD measurements. The Cu2O fraction of the films became 100% with an increase in the deposition temperature of both Ni-doped and undoped films. It has been suggested that the reduction process from CuO to Cu2O was depressed by Ni doping. The Hall measurements showed the carrier transport properties of Cu2O:Ni films to be those of a p-type semiconductor. The carriers were considered to be generated by Cu-vacancies in Cu2O. It was found that the doped Ni atoms enter the interstitial sites in Ni-doped Cu2O film and produce the scattering center of the neutral impurity, resulting in low mobility.