Effect of Substrate on Textural Characteristics of NiO Thin Film

Thin films of NiO were deposited on steel and glass substrates by the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique. The structural analysis of the films was conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD) instrumentation. The grain size and surface morphology of the films were measured using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The surface characteristics, monofractal, and multifractal properties were investigated through the utilization of atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. The findings indicated that the surface roughness of the NiO thin film on steel (Sq = 177.26 nm) was greater than that of the glass substrate (Sq = 141.13 nm). The surface complexity of the NiO film on glass is greater than that on the steel. The fractal dimension (Df) of the films on glass and steel was calculated to be 2.53 and 2.42, respectively.