The dependence of structural and optical properties of PLD grown ZnO films on ablation parameters

• Published in: Applied surface science 2013-12, Vol.286, p.54-60
• Main Authors: Aravind, Arun, Jayaraj, M.K., Kumar, Mukesh, Chandra, Ramesh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ablation; Ambience; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Crystal structure; Deposition; Exact sciences and technology; Excimer lasers; Optical properties; Photoluminescent; Physics; PLD; Raman spectra; Silicon substrates; Thin films; Zinc oxide; ZnO
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.09.008

•Growth of defect free crystalline ZnO thin films at room temperature by Nd:YAG laser.•Growth of ZnO nanostructures by PLD using Nd:YAG and KrF excimer laser.•Raman spectra confirm the growth of highly crystalline ZnO thin films.•Strong UV-PL emission without any visible defect emissions. Highly c-axis oriented ZnO thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique on quartz, silicon (100) and Al2O3 〈0001〉 substrates using KrF excimer laser (λab= 248nm) and Q-switched fourth harmonic Nd:YAG laser (λab= 266nm). The crystalline nature, surface morphology and optical properties of the deposited films depend on the oxygen ambience, substrate nature and deposition temperature. The band gap of ZnO thin films varies with increase of substrate temperature despite of the ablation wavelength. Strong UV-PL emission without any deep level emissions confirms the growth of stoichiometric and crystalline ZnO thin films. Raman scattering studies confirms the growth of c-axis oriented ZnO thin films at different substrate temperature.