Optical, structural, and morphological characterisation of epitaxial ZnO films grown by pulsed-laser deposition

We report on ZnO epitaxial growth by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) on different substrates, such as quartz, sapphire, and GaN template. Approximately 1μm-thick films were grown under different substrate temperatures and background oxygen conditions. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated preferential...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Thin solid films 2013-07, Vol.539, p.55-59
Main Authors: Mosca, M., Macaluso, R., Calì, C., Butté, R., Nicolay, S., Feltin, E., Martin, D., Grandjean, N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Exact sciences and technology
Laser deposition
Materials science
Methods of deposition of films and coatings
film growth and epitaxy
Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation
Other semiconductors
Photoluminescence
Physics
Pulsed laser deposition
Specific materials
Structural properties
Surface roughness
Theory and models of film growth
Zinc oxide
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Summary:We report on ZnO epitaxial growth by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) on different substrates, such as quartz, sapphire, and GaN template. Approximately 1μm-thick films were grown under different substrate temperatures and background oxygen conditions. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated preferential growth along the c-axis direction with a full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the rocking curve as narrow as 230arcs in the case of the GaN template. Low-temperature photoluminescence showed A-excitonic emission near 3.36eV and a FWHM of D0XA emission as small as 2.89meV at 9K. Atomic force microscope measurements showed that roughness as low as 18nm could be obtained. These results prove that PLD is a low-cost technique suitable to grow heteroepitaxial ZnO layers with excellent properties in terms of luminescence, crystallinity and morphology. •This study examines the quality of ZnO layers deposited by pulsed laser deposition.•Effects of temperature, oxygen pressure, and type of substrate are shown.•Photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy measurements made•In terms of costs, sapphire substrates are the best candidates for epitaxial growth.
ISSN:0040-6090
1879-2731
DOI:10.1016/j.tsf.2013.04.146