Structural and electrical properties of (110) ZnO epitaxial thin films on (001) SrTiO3 substrates

(110) oriented ZnO thin films were epitaxially prepared on (001) SrTiO3 single crystal substrates by a pulsed laser deposition method. The evolution of structure, surface morphology, and electrical conductivity of ZnO films was investigated on changing the growth temperature. Two domain configurations with 90 degrees rotation to each other in the film plane were found to exist to reduce the lattice mismatch between the films and substrates. In the measured temperature range between 80 K and 300 K, the electrical conductivity can be perfectly fitted by a formula of a (T) = sigma(0) + aT(b/2). implying that the electron-phonon scattering might have a significant contribution to the conductivity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Piezoelectricity Of Zno Films Prepared By Sol-Gel Method

ZnO piezoelectric thin films were prepared on crystal substrate Si(111) by sol-gel technology, then characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The ZnO films characterized by X-ray diffraction are highly oriented in (002) direction with the growing of the film thickness. The morphologies, roughness and grain size of ZnO film investigated by AFM show that roughness and grain size of ZnO piezoelectric films decrease with the increase of the film thickness. The roughness dimension is 2.188-0.914 nm. The piezoelectric coefficient d(33) was investigated with a piezo-response force microscope (PFM). The results show that the piezoelectric coefficient increases with the increase of thickness and (002) orientation. When the force reference is close to surface roughness of the films, the piezoelectric coefficient measured is inaccurate and fluctuates in a large range, but when the force reference is big, the piezoelectric coefficient d(33) changes little and ultimately keeps constant at a low frequency.

Piezoelectricity of ZnO films prepared by sol-gel method

ZnO piezoelectric thin films were prepared on crystal substrate Si(111) by sol-gel technology, then characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The ZnO films characterized by X-ray diffraction are highly oriented in (002) direction with the growing of the film thickness. The morphologies, roughness and grain size of ZnO film investigated by AFM show that roughness and grain size of ZnO piezoelectric films decrease with the increase of the film thickness. The roughness dimension is 2.188-0.914 nm. The piezoelectric coefficient d(33) was investigated with a piezo-response force microscope (PFM). The results show that the piezoelectric coefficient increases with the increase of thickness and (002) orientation. When the force reference is close to surface roughness of the films, the piezoelectric coefficient measured is inaccurate and fluctuates in a large range, but when the force reference is big, the piezoelectric coefficient d(33) changes little and ultimately keeps constant at a low frequency.

Enhancement of near-band edge photoluminescence of ZnO thin films by employing MgF2 buffer layer

ZnO/MgF2/ZnO sandwich structure films were fabricated. The effects of a buffer layer on structure and optical properties of ZnO films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, optical transmittance and absorption measurements. Measurement results showed that the buffer layer had the effects of improving the quality of ZnO films and releasing the residual stresses in the films. The near-band edge emissions of ZnO films deposited on the MgF2 buffer layer were significantly enhanced compared with those deposited on bare substrate due to the smaller lattice mismatch between MgF2 and ZnO than that between fused silica and ZnO. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhancement of near-band-edge photoluminescence of ZnO thin films in sandwich configuration at room temperature

ZnO/ITO/ZnO sandwich structure films were fabricated. The effects of buffer layer on the structure and optical properties of ZnO films were investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence, optical transmittance, and absorption measurements. XRD spectra indicate that a buffer layer has the effects of lowering the grain orientation of ZnO films and increasing the residual stresses in the films. The near-band-edge emissions of ZnO films deposited on both single indium tin oxide (ITO) buffer and ITO/ZnO double buffers are significantly enhanced compared with that deposited on a bare substrate due to the quantum confinement effect. (C) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Effect of substrate and annealing on the structural and optical properties of ZnO:Al films

ZnO:Al thin films with c-axis preferred orientation were deposited on glass and Si substrates using RF magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of substrate on the structural and optical properties of ZnO:Al films were investigated. The results showed a strong blue peak from glass-substrate ZnO:Al film whose intensity became weak when deposited on Si substrate. However, the full width at half maxima (FWHM) of the Si-substrate ZnO:Al (0 0 2) peaks decreased evidently and the grain size increased. Finally, we discussed the influence of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of Si-substrate ZnO:Al films. After annealing, the crystal quality of Si-substrate ZnO:Al thin films was markedly improved and the intensity of blue peak (similar to 445 nm) increased noticeably. This observation may indicate that the visible emission properties of the ZnO:Al films are dependent more on the film crystallinity than on the film stoichiometry. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Blue-yellow ZnO homostructural light-emitting diode realized by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition technique

We report on the realization of ZnO homojunction light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on (0001) ZnO bulk substrate. The p-type ZnO epilayer was formed by nitrogen incorporation using N2O gas as oxidizing and doping sources. Distinct electroluminescence (EL) emissions in the blue and yellow regions were observed at room temperature by the naked eye under forward bias. The EL peak energy coincided with the photoluminescence peak energy of the ZnO epilayer, suggesting that the EL emissions emerge from the ZnO epilayer. In addition, the current-voltage and light output-voltage characteristics of ZnO homojunction LEDs have also been studied. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

柱状ZnO阵列薄膜的生长及其发光特性

采用一种设备简单、原料低廉的新型方法，在镀有ZnO先驱薄膜的（0001）蓝宝石上利用水热法制备出了柱状ZnO阵列薄膜．用扫描电镜（SEM），X射线衍射（XRD）对样品的形貌和结构进行了表征，结果显示ZnO薄膜为柱状阵列，基于蓝宝石衬底沿c轴择优生长，且（0004）摇摆曲线半高宽度（FWHM）约为1.8°。此ZnO阵列薄膜具有很强的紫外发射光谱（PL）．

Characterization of ZnMgO hexagonal-nanotowers/films on m-plane sapphire synthesized by metal organic chemical vapour deposition

ZnMgO hexagonal-nanotowers/films grown on m-plane sapphire substrates were successfully synthesized using a vertical low-pressure metal organic chemical vapour deposition system. The structural and optical properties of the as-obtained products were characterized using various techniques. They were grown along the non-polar [1 0 (1) over bar 0] direction and possessed wurtzite structure. The ZnMgO hexagonal-nanotowers were about 200 nm in diameter at the bottom and 120 nm in length. Photoluminescence and Raman spectra show that the products have good crystal quality with few oxygen vacancies. With Mg incorporation, multiple-phonon scattering becomes weak and broad, and the intensities of all observed vibrational modes decrease. The ultraviolet near band edge emission shows a clear blueshift (as much as 100 meV) and broadening compared with that of pure ZnO products.

Super-hydrophobicity of silica nanoparticles modified with vinyl groups

Super-hydrophobic films with vinyl-modified silica nanoparticles (V-SiOx-NPs) were successfully prepared. The rough surface, which was composed of microstructures of disordered V-SiOx-NPs and nanostructures on the surface of V-SiOx-NPs, rather than the chemical composition devoted to the super-hydrophobicity of film. The relationship between contact angle and diameter of V-SiOx-NPs was then investigated. The sessile contact angles (CA) of films with 150-1600nm V-SiOx-NPs were around 166 regardless the diameter, while the film with 85 nm V-SiOx-NPs had the lowest CA of about 158. The packing manner of V-SiOx-NPs determined the air fraction on the surface and then the CA.

Ultrafast dynamics in ZnO thin films irradiated by femtosecond lasers

The damage morphologies, threshold fluences in ZnO films were studied with femtosecond laser pulses. Time-resolved reflectivity and transmissivity have been measured by the pump-probe technique at different pump fluences and wavelengths. The results indicate that two-phase transition is the dominant damage mechanism, which is similar to that in narrow band gap semiconductors. The estimated energy loss rate of conduction electrons is 1.5 eV/ps. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparation and characterization of hybrid ZnO/ormosils films

Hybrid ZnO/ormosils Elms are prepared by the sol-gel method. A FT-IR spectrometer, 900 UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer, atomic force microscope, and ellipsometer are employed to investigate microstructure and optical properties of the films fired at different temperatures. The results show that the films with high transmittance and low surface roughness could be obtained at the heat-treatment temperature of 150 degrees C, the refractive index and thickness of the film are 1.413, 2.11 mu m, respectively. Higher temperatures (350 degrees C, 550 degrees C) change the Elm microstructure severely, and then decrease the transmittance of the films.

Effects of sapphire substrate annealing on ZnO epitaxial films grown by MOCVD

The annealing effects of sapphire substrate on the quality of epitaxial ZnO films grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) were studied. The atomic steps formed on (0 0 0 1) sapphire (alpha-Al2O3) substrate surface by annealing at high temperature was analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The annealing effects of sapphire substrate on the ZnO films were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), AFM and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Experimental results indicate that the film quality is strongly affected by annealing treatment of the sapphire substrate surface., The optimum annealing temperature of sapphire substrates is given. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Epitaxial growth of ZnO films on (100) and (001) gamma-LiAlO2 substrates by pulsed laser deposition

Structural and optical properties were investigated for ZnO films grown on (100) and (001) gamma-LiAlO2 (LAO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition method. According XRD results, it is intuitionistic that (100) LAO is suitable for fabricating high quality ZnO film, while (001) LAO is unsuitable. The FWHM of XRD, stress in film and FWHM of UV PL spectra for ZnO films on (100) LAO show a decreasing with increasing substrate temperature from 300 to 600 degrees C. ZnO film fabricated at 600 degrees C has the greatest grain size, the smallest stress (0.47 Gpa) and PL FWHM value (similar to 85 meV). This means that the substrate temperature of 600 degrees C is optimum for ZnO film deposited on (100) LAO. Moreover, it was found that the UV PL spectra intensity of ZnO film is not only related to the grain size and stoichiometric, but also depends on the stress in the film.

Epitaxial growth of ZnO thin films on LiGaO2 substrates by pulsed-laser deposition

Lattice-matched (Delta(a/a) = 1.8-3.4%) (001) LiGaO2 substrates have been employed for the first time to grow ZnO thin films by pulsed-laser deposition at 350-650 degrees C with oxygen partial pressure of 20Pa. XRD shows that a highly c-axis-oriented ZnO film can be deposited on (001) LiGaO2 substrate at 500 degrees C. AFM images reveal the surfaces of as-deposited ZnO films are smooth and root-mean-square values are 6.662, 5.765 and 6.834 nm at 350, 500 and 650 degrees C, respectively. PL spectra indicate only near-band-edge UV emission appears in the curve of ZnO film deposited at 500 degrees C. The deep-level emission of ZnO film deposited at 650 degrees C probably results from Li diffusion into the film. All the results illustrate substrate temperature plays a pretty important role in obtaining ZnO film with a high quality on LiGaO2 substrate by pulsed-laser deposition. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.