Structural and morphological study of ZnO thin films electrodeposited on n-type silicon

• Published in: Applied surface science 2010-10, Vol.256 (24), p.7442-7445
• Main Authors: Ait Ahmed, N., Fortas, G., Hammache, H., Sam, S., Keffous, A., Manseri, A., Guerbous, L., Gabouze, N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adsorbed layers and thin films; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Deposition; Diffraction; Electrodeposition; Electrodeposition, electroplating; Electron and ion emission by liquids and solids; impact phenomena; Emission analysis; Exact sciences and technology; Glass; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Morphology; Photoemission and photoelectron spectra; Physics; Scanning electron microscopy; Silicon; Structure and morphology; thickness; Surface layer; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Texture; Thin film structure and morphology; Thin films; X-rays; Zinc oxide
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2010.05.087

In this work, we report on the electrodeposition of ZnO thin films on n-Si (1 0 0) and glass substrates. The influence of the deposition time on the morphology of ZnO thin films was investigated. The ZnO thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show a variation of ZnO texture from main (0 0 2) at 10 min to totally (1 0 1) at 15 min deposition time. The photoluminescence (PL) studies show that both UV (∼382 nm) and blue (∼432 nm) luminescences are the main emissions for the electrodeposited ZnO films. In addition, the film grown at 15 min indicates an evident decrease of the yellow-green (∼520 nm) emission band comparing with that of 10 min. Finally, transmittance spectra show a high transmission value up to 85% in the visible wavelength range. Such results would be very interesting for solar cells applications.