Physical and Structural Properties of RF Magnetron Sputtered ZnO Films.

Poly-crystal zinc oxide thin films with c-axis orientation have been successfully grown on the silicon substrate by r.f. magnetron sputtering technique. A systematic study has been made of the influence of substrate temperature on the film structural and optical properties. For SAW device applications, it is necessary for ZnO films to have c-axis oriented crystalline structure. Much lower FWHM values 0.24 &circle; is obtained under the substrate temperature at 100 &circle; C for gaining effective electromechanical coupling. Crystalline structures, stress, and surface morphology characteristics of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy. Reflective Second Harmonic Generation was used to analyze the quality of the ZnO film, and the results from these ZnO films coincide with the X-ray pattern and SEM image. Optical transmittance measurements were carried out by UV-visible spectrophotometer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]