<p>Nickel oxide and aluminum-doped zinc oxide thin films were successfully deposited using pulsed laser deposition. Two nickel oxide thin films were grown at deposition pressure of 10 mTorr (≈&#xa0;1.33&#xa0;Pa) and 20 mTorr (≈&#xa0;2.66&#xa0;Pa). The prepared NiO thin film was successfully characterized using x-ray diffraction, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, and Hall measurement techniques. The thermoelectric measurements were carried out using an in-house-developed thermoelectric setup. The Seebeck coefficient values for the nickel oxide thin films prepared at 20 mTorr and 10 mTorr were found to be nearly the same, at approximately 0.018&#xa0;mV/K. The power factors at 20 mTorr and 10 mTorr for the nickel oxide thin films were estimated to be 0.00008424 mW cm⁻¹&#xa0;K⁻² and 0.0000312 mW cm⁻¹&#xa0;K⁻², and the figure of merit was estimated as 0.125 and 0.046, respectively.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>