High quality ZnO films deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering using layer by layer growth method

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 518; no. 16; pp. 4529 - 4532
• Main Authors: Ievtushenko, A.I., Karpyna, V.A., Lazorenko, V.I., Lashkarev, G.V., Khranovskyy, V.D., Baturin, V.A., Karpenko, O.Y., Lunika, M.M., Avramenko, K.A., Strelchuk, V.V., Kutsay, O.M.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-06-2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Deposition; Deposition by sputtering; Diffraction; Exact sciences and technology; Glass; Magnetron sputtering; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Physics; Scanning electron microscopy; Silicon substrates; Structural quality; Structure and morphology; thickness; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Texture; Theory and models of film growth; Thin film structure and morphology; Transmittance; Zinc oxide; ZnO; ZnO; Structural quality; Magnetron sputtering; Homoepitaxy; Second order; Glass; XRD; Texture; Thin films; Cathode sputtering; Optical transmission; Raman scattering; Physical vapor deposition; Zinc oxide; Silicon; Absorption spectra; Absorption edge; Aluminium oxide; Scanning electron microscopy; Silicon nitride; Raman spectroscopy; Transmittance; Dislocations; Growth mechanism; Sputter deposition
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2009.12.023

Three-layered ZnO films were deposited on Si substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering using layer by layer growth method. The Raman scattering confocal analysis confirms that ZnO film quality is improving at increasing the number of ZnO layers at film deposition.
Applied method of deposition was used to realize homoepitaxial growth of ZnO films on
c-Al
2O
3, Si, SiN
x
/Si, glass and ITO/glass substrates. In order to improve the film quality we increased the number of deposition stages up to 5. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmittance measurements were used to testify the quality of grown five-layered ZnO films. XRD results showed that all five-layered ZnO films have (002) texture. The second order diffraction peak (004) on XRD spectra additionally testifies to the high quality of all five-layered ZnO films. SEM results demonstrated that no defects such as cracks and dislocations caused by interruption of deposition ZnO films were observed. Transmittance measurement results showed that ZnO films deposited on transparent substrates have abrupt absorption edge and high optical transmission in the visible region of the spectrum.