What does this research mean for the field?

Modulating the thickness of a metallic Ni interlayer in ZnO/Ni/ZnO thin films effectively tunes their charge dynamics and dielectric behavior by altering interfacial potential barriers and facilitating correlated barrier hopping. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.SUPPORTS_CONSENSUS.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to explore how varying the thickness of Ni interlayers affects the electrical and dielectric properties of ZnO thin films.

May 18, 2026Scientific Reports0 citationsOpen Access

Ni-interlayer-induced modulation of electrical and dielectric properties in ZnO/Ni/ZnO thin films fabricated using hybrid deposition techniques

SFS. S. Fouad HEHytham A. Abd El-Ghany MNM. Nabil

Key Points

This research aims to explore how varying the thickness of Ni interlayers affects the electrical and dielectric properties of ZnO thin films.
Fabricated ZnO/Ni/ZnO trilayer thin films using atomic layer deposition and direct current magnetron sputtering.
Conducted broadband alternating current electrical measurements to analyze conductivity and frequency-dependent effects.
Assessed interfacial modifications and structural properties to understand charge transport mechanisms.
Conductivity increases with Ni interlayer thickness, influenced significantly by the interfacial potential barriers.
Higher Ni thickness leads to elevated barrier heights and decreased activation energies for charge transport.
Dielectric constant and loss increase with temperature while decreasing with frequency, indicating thermally activated dielectric relaxation.

Abstract

Interface engineering in oxide multilayers provides a powerful pathway to regulate charge transport and dielectric response in low-dimensional material systems. Here, ZnO/Ni/ZnO (ZNZ) trilayer thin films with fixed ZnO thickness and systematically varied Ni interlayer thickness are fabricated using a hybrid combination of atomic layer deposition (ALD) and direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS). Structural analyses confirm the formation of well-defined multilayer architectures with thickness-dependent interfacial modification. Broadband alternating current (AC) electrical measurements reveal a pronounced frequency-dependent increase in conductivity, strongly governed by the Ni interlayer thickness. Analysis of the frequency exponent indicates that correlated barrier hopping is the dominant transport mechanism, demonstrating that charge transport is mediated by Ni-modified interfacial potential barriers rather than bulk conduction. Increasing Ni thickness results in higher barrier heights and lower activation energies, indicating more efficient interfacial hopping pathways. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and loss tangent decrease with frequency while increasing with temperature, consistent with thermally activated dielectric relaxation dominated by interfacial polarization effects. These findings establish metallic interlayer thickness as an effective control parameter for tuning charge dynamics and dielectric behavior in ZnO-based multilayers, highlighting the potential of interface-driven design strategies for advanced electronic, capacitive, and energy-storage applications.

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