Fabrication of ZnO films by radio frequency magnetron sputtering and annealing

ZnO thin films were deposited on Si（111） substrates through a radio frequency （rf） magnetron sputtering system. Then the samples were annealed at different temperatures in air ambience and ammonia ambience respectively. The structure and composition of the ZnO films were studied by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）. The morphology of the samples was studied by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. Measured results show that ZnO films with hexagonal wurtzite structure were grown on Si（111） substrates when annealed in the two ambiences. The volatilization process of ZnO in the ammonia ambience at high temperature was discussed and the mechanism of the reaction was analyzed.

PEDOT:PSS Schottky contacts on annealed ZnO films

Polycrystalline ZnO and ITO films on SiO2 substrates are prepared by radio frequency （RF） reactive magnetron sputtering. Schottky contacts are fabricated on ZnO films by spin coating with a high conducting polymer, poly（3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene）： poly（styrenesulfonate） （PEDOT：PSS） as the metal electrodes. The current-voltage mea- surements for samples on unannealed ZnO films exhibit rectifying behaviours with a barrier height of 0.72 eV （n ---- 1.93）. The current for the sample is improved by two orders of magnitude at 1 V after annealing ZnO film at 850 ~C, whose barrier height is 0.75 eV with an ideality factor of 1.12. X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy are used to study the properties of the PEDOT：PSS/ZnO/ITO/SiO2. The results are useful for applications such as metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors and UV photodetectors.

Influence of Annealing on Microstructure and Photoluminescence Properties of Al-Doped ZnO Films

Effect of annealing temperature and time on the microstructure and photoluminescence(PL)properties of Al doped ZnO thin films deposited on Si(100)substrates by sol-gel method was investigated.An X-ray diffraction(XRD)was used to analyze the structural properties of the thin films.All the thin films have a preferential c-axis orientation,which are enhances in the annealing process.It is found from the PL measurement that near band edge(NBE)emission and deep-level(DL)emissions are observed in as-grown ZnO∶Al thin films.However,the intensity of DLE is much smaller than that of NBE.Enhancement of NBE is clearly observed after thermal annealing in air and the intensity of NBE increases with annealing temperature.Results also show that the PL spectrum is dependent not only on the processing temperature but also on the processing time.The DLE related defects can not be removed by annealing,and on the contrary,the annealing conditions actually favor their formation.

Effect of annealing treatment on optical and electrical properties of ZnO films

The ZnO-Al films were prepared by R.F. magnetron sputtering system using a Zn-Al target (with purity of (99.99%).) The obtained films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, SEM and optical and electrical measurements. The experimental results show that the properties of ZnO films can be further improved by annealing treatment. The crystallinity of ZnO films becomes better, and the optical gap energy is decreased, but thermoelectric power is enhanced after heat treatment. The optical gap energy decreases from 3.75 eV to 3.68 eV when the annealing temperature increases from 25 ℃ to 400 ℃.This can be ascribed to the decrease of carrier concentration, resulting in Burstein shift.

Effects of high-dose Ge ion implantation and post-implantation annealing on ZnO thin films

This paper reports that ion implantation to a dose of 1 ×10^17 ions/cm^2 was performed on c-axis-orientated ZnO thin films deposited on （0001） sapphire substrates by the sol-gel technique. After ion implantation, the as-implanted ZnO films were annealed in argon ambient at different temperatures from 600 - 900 ℃. The effects of ion implantation and post-implantation annealing on the structural and optical properties of the ZnO films were investigated by x-ray diffraction （XRD）, photoluminescence （PL）. It was found that the intensities of （002） peak and near band edge （NBE） exitonic ultraviolet emission increased with increasing annealing temperature from 600- 900 ℃. The defect related deep level emission （DLE） firstly increased with increasing annealing temperature from 600 - 750 ℃, and then decreased quickly with increasing annealing temperature. The recovery of the intensities of NBE and DLE occurs at ～850℃ and ～750℃ respectively. The relative PL intensity ratio of NBE to DLE showed that the quality of ZnO films increased continuously with increasing annealing temperature from 600 - 900 ℃.

Effects of Annealing Temperature on Properties of ZnO Thin Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition

ZnO thin films are deposited on n-Si（111） substrates by pulsed laser deposition（PLD） system. Then the samples are annealed at different temperatures in air ambient and their properties are investigated particularly as a function of annealing temperature. The microstructure, morphology and optical properties of the as-grown ZnO films are studied by X-ray diffraetion（XRD）. atomic force mieroseope（AFM）, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy（FTIR） and photoluminescence（PL） spectra. The results show that the as- grown ZnO films have a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferred c-axis orientation. Moreover, the diameters of the ZnO crystallites become larger and the crystal quality of the ZnO fihns is improved with the increase of annealing temperature.

Effect of annealing temperature on the microstructure and optoelectrical properties of ZnO thin films and their application in self-powered accelerometers

This paper reports a piezoelectric nanogenerator(NG) with a thickness of approximately 80 μm for miniaturized self-powered acceleration sensors. To deposit the piezoelectric zinc oxide(ZnO) thin film, a magnetron sputtering machine was used. Polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA) and aluminum-doped zinc oxide(AZO) were used as the insulating layer and the top electrode of the NG, respectively. The experimental results show that the ZnO thin films annealed at 150℃ exhibited the highest crystallinity among the prepared films and an optical band gap of 3.24 eV. The NG fabricated with an AZO/PMMA/ZnO/stainless steel configuration exhibited a higher output voltage than the device with an AZO/ZnO/PMMA/stainless steel configuration. In addition, the annealing temperature affected the open-circuit voltage of the NGs;the output voltage reached 3.81 V when the annealing temperature was 150℃. The open-circuit voltage of the prepared self-powered accelerometer increased linearly with acceleration. In addition, the small NG-based accelerometer, which exhibited excellent fatigue resistance, can be used for acceleration measurements of small and lightweight devices.

The effects of post-thermal annealing on the optical parameters of indium-doped ZnO thin films

Indium-doped ZnO thin films are deposited on quartz glass slides by RF magnetron sputtering at ambient temperature. The as-deposited films are annealed at different temperatures from 400℃ to 800 ℃ in air for 1 h. Transmittance spectra are used to determine the optical parameters and the thicknesses of the films before and after annealing using a nonlinear programming method, and the effects of the annealing temperatures on the optical parameters and the thickness are investigated. The optical band gap is determined from the absorption coefficient. The calculated results show that the film thickness and optical parameters both increase first and then decrease with increasing annealing temperature from 400℃ to 800℃. The band gap of the as-deposited ZnO：In thin film is 3.28 eV, and it decreases to 3.17 eV after annealing at 400℃. Then the band gap increases from 3.17 eV to 3.23 eV with increasing annealing temperature from 400℃ to 800℃.

Photoluminescence and defect evolution of nano-ZnO thin films at low temperature annealing

Nano-ZnO thin films composed of nanoparticles with sizes of 10-16 nm on silicon substrates at low temperature were prepared by sol-gel method.By placing the nano-ZnO thin films at room temperature or annealing at 100°C in air for 10 h intermittently,within a total 70 h annealing time,the evolution of PL spectra of the nano-ZnO thin films were studied in detail.As the annealing time increases,the PL peaks shift from violet to blue and green bands.The PL peaks at violet and blue bands decrease with the annealing time,but the PL peaks at green band are opposite.The PL spectra are related to the defects in the nano-ZnO thin films.The PL peaks positioned at 430 nm are mainly related to defects of zinc interstatials(Zni),oxygen vacancies and(Vo);the ones at 420 nm to oxygen interstitials(Oi),Zinc vacancies(Vzn),Zni ;and the ones at 468 nm to Vzn,Zni,and charged oxygen interstatials(Vo+).The green luminescence is related to Oi,Vo and Zni.The evolutions of PL spectra and the defects are also related to the concentrations of Zn in the thin films,the thicknesses of the films and the annealing time.For the films with 0.5 M and 1.0 M Zn concentrations,after 20 h and 30 h annealing in air at 100°C,respectively,either placing them in air at room temperature or continuing anneal in air at 100°C,the PL spectra are stable.Under the low temperature annealing,Zni decreases with the annealing time,and Oi increases.Sufficient Oi favors to keep the nano-ZnO thin films stable.This result is important to nano-ZnO thin films as electron transport layers in inverted or tandem organic solar cells.

Dependence of Thermal Annealing on Transparent Conducting Properties of HoF_3-Doped ZnO Thin Films

A kind of n-type HoF_3-doped zinc oxide-based transparent conductive film has been developed by electron beam evaporation and studied under thermal annealing in air and vacuum at temperatures 100–500℃.Effective substitutional dopings of F to O and Ho to Zn are realized for the films with smooth surface morphology and average grain size of about 50 nm.The hall mobility,electron concentration,resistivity and work function for the asdeposited films are 47.89 cm^2/Vs,1.39×10^(20)cm^(-3),9.37×10^(-4)Ω·cm and 5.069 eV,respectively.In addition,the average transmittance in the visible region(400–700 nm)approximates to 87%.The HoF_3:ZnO films annealed in air and vacuum can retain good optoelectronic properties under 300℃,thereinto,more stable electrical properties can be found in the air-annealed films than in the vacuum-annealed films,which is assumed to be a result of improved nano-crystalline lattice quality.The optimized films for most parameters can be obtained at 200℃ for the air-annealing case and at room temperature for the vacuum annealing case.The advisable optoelectronic properties imply that HoF_3:ZnO can facilitate carrier injection and has promising applications in energy and light sources as transparent electrodes.

ZnO Films Deposited on Glass by Means of DC Sputtering

ZnO films were deposited on glass substrates by means of a direct current (DC) sputtering technique. The physical properties of the films were investigated on the basis of X-ray diffraction measurements. It was found that as-deposited films show c-axis oriented crystal normal to the surface with the extension of c axis by 1.27% that is estimated from the shift of the peak in the X-ray diffraction pattern. Post-deposition annealing in air at higher than 400℃ eliminates the shift and sharpens the diffraction peak structure at the same time. The electrical resistivity continues to decrease from 500 Ω•cm down to 0.6 Ω•cm by annealing as high as 600℃.

Effects of the annealing temperature on the structure and up-conversion photoluminescence of ZnO film

The up-conversion film is being tried to increase the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the silicon solar cell. To improve the efficiency of the photoluminescence film, the effects of the annealing temperature were investigated on the structure and photoluminescence of the ZnO up-conversion film, which was prepared using the sol-gel method and the spin-coating technique. The results show that the organic compounds and water in the ZnO film were completely eliminated when the annealing temperature reached 500 ℃. The crystallinity of film is improved and the average grain size continuously increases as increasing the annealing temperature. The transmittance in the wavelength range of 400-2000 nm continuously increases as the annealing temperature increases from 500 ℃ to 700 0 C, whilst it decreases first and then increases as the annealing temperature increases from 800 ℃ to 1000℃. When the film is excited with a laser of 980 nm, there are two intense emission bands in the up-conversion emission spectra, 542-nm green light and 660-nm red light, corresponding to Ho;:;S;/;F;→;I;and;F;→;I;transitions, respectively. In addition, the intensity of up-conversion luminescence for the film increases first and then decreases with the increase of the annealing temperature. When the annealing temperature is at 900 ℃, the film consists of small round compact particles with a high degree of crystallization,reaching maximum up-conversion intensity of the film.

ZnO Films Deposited on Porous Silicon by DC Sputtering

ZnO is now a fascinating semiconductor oxide material for light emission or transparent electronic conductors. We deposited ZnO films on porous silicon, which is known as a light emitting material based on silicon, by means of a direct current sputtering technique. The deposition was performed at room temperature, and the samples were annealed afterwards to improve the ZnO crystalline quality. The discussion to compare our results with that formed on Si wafer, reveals that the ZnO on porous silicon has the better crystalline quality in the scope of an X-ray diffraction measurement.

Effects of Annealing Temperature on the Structural,Optical,and Electrical Properties of ZnO Thin Films Grown on n-Si<100>Substrates by the Sol–Gel Spin Coating Method

The effects of annealing temperature on the sol–gel-derived ZnO thin films deposited on n-Sh100 i substrates by sol–gel spin coating method have been studied in this paper.The structural,optical,and electrical properties of ZnO thin films annealed at 450,550,and 650 °C in the Ar gas atmosphere have been investigated in a systematic way.The XRD analysis shows a polycrystalline nature of the films at all three annealing temperatures.Further,the crystallite size is observed to be increased with the annealing temperature,whereas the positions of various peaks in the XRD spectra are found to be red-shifted with the temperature.The surface morphology studied through the scanning electron microscopy measurements shows a uniform distribution of ZnO nanoparticles over the entire Si substrates of enhanced grain sizes with the annealing temperature.Optical properties investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy shows an optical band gap varying in the range of 3.28–3.15 eV as annealing temperature is increased from 450 to 650 °C,respectively.The fourpoint probe measurement shows a decrease in resistivity from 2：1 10 2to 8：1 10 4X cm with the increased temperature from 450 to 650 °C.The study could be useful for studying the sol–gel-derived ZnO thin film-based devices for various electronic,optoelectronic,and gas sensing applications.

Effect of Surface Roughness on Laser Induced Nonlinear Optical Properties of Annealed ZnO Thin Films

Variation of nonlinear optical properties with surface roughness of ZnO thin films deposited on coming glass substrates at different annealing temperature （TA） was reported. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, UV-Vis-NIR transmission and single beam z-scan technique using second harmonics of Nd：YAG laser. Surface morphology of the samples was investigated by atomic force microscopy （AFM）. Surface roughness was found minimum （8.4 nm） for ZnO sample annealed at 450℃. The nonlinear optical properties （NLO） were found to be dependent on surface roughness and the highest value of third order nonlinear susceptibility （X（3）=4.3x 10-7 esu） was obtained for ZnO at TA 450℃.

Effect of annealing temperature of Bi_(1.5)Zn_(1.0)Nb_(1.5)O_7 gate insulator on performance of ZnO based thin film transistors

The bottom-gate structure ZnO based thin film transistors （ZnO-TFTs） using Bi1.5Zn1.0Nb1.507 （BZN） thin films as gate insulator were fabricated on Pt/SiO2/Si substrate by radio frequency magnetic sputtering. We investigated the effect of annealing temperature at 300, 400, and 500℃ on the performance of BZN thin films and ZnO-TFTs. XRD measurement confirmed that BZN thin films were amorphous in nature. BZN thin films annealed at 400℃ obtain the high capacitance density of 249 nF/cm2, high dielectric constant of 71, and low leakage current density of 10^-7 A/cm2 ordoff current ratio and field effect mobility of ZnO-TFTs annealed at 400℃ are approximately one order of magnitude and two times, respectively higher than that of ZnO-TFTs annealed at 300℃. When the annealing temperature is 400℃, the electrical performance of ZnO-TFTs is enhanced remarkably. Devices obtain a low sub-threshold swing of 470 mV/dec and surface states density of 3.21×10^12cm^-2.

Spectroscopic Understanding of Structural and Electrical Property Variations in Dopant-Free ZnO Films

Physical property variation in dopant-free ZnO films was investigated. Film annealing under various environments（O_2, in-Air, N2 and vacuum） resulted in better crystallinity than in the as-grown film. In particular, the film annealed under the N_2 environment showed better crystallinity and electrical properties than films annealed in other environments. Based on spectroscopic analysis, we found a correlation between physical（structural, electrical） and chemical properties： The crystallinity of ZnO films is closely related to ZnO bonding, whereas carrier concentration is associated with VO（oxygen vacancy）.

Structure and Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Films Prepared by the Czochralski Method

The zinc oxide seed film was coated on conductive glass (FTO) substrate by the Czochralski method,Zinc acetate and hexamethylenetetramine were used as raw materials to prepare growth solution,and then ZnO film was prepared by a low-temperature solution method.The effects of annealing temperature on the morphology,structure,stress and optical properties of ZnO films were studied.The thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD),scanning electron microscopy (SEM),UV-visible absorption spectra (UV-vis),photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).The results show that the films are ZnO nanorods.With the increase of annealing temperature,the diameter of the rod increases,and the nanorods tend to be oriented.The band gap of the sample obtained from the light absorption spectra first increases and then decreases with the increase of annealing temperature.When the annealing temperature is 350 ℃,the crystallinity of zinc oxide film is the highest,the band gap is close to the theoretical value of pure ZnO.

Towards full repair of defects in reduced graphene oxide films by two-step graphitization

The complete restoration of a perfect carbon lattice has been a central issue in the research on graphene derived from graphite oxide since this preparation route was first proposed several years ago, but such a goal has so far remained elusive. Here, we demonstrate that the highly defective structure of reduced graphene oxide sheets assembled into free-standing, paper-like films can be fully repaired by means of high temperature annealing （graphitization）. Characterization of the films by X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy indicated that the main stages in the transformation of the films were （i） complete removal of oxygen functional groups and generation of atomic vacancies （up to 1,500 ~C）, and （ii） vacancy annihilation and coalescence of adjacent overlapping sheets to yield continuous polycrystalline layers （1,800-2,700 ~C） similar to those of highly oriented graphites. The prevailing type of defect in the polycrystalline layers were the grain boundaries separating neighboring domains, which were typically a few hundred nanometers in lateral size, exhibited long-range graphitic order and were virtually free of even atomic-sized defects. The electrical conductivity of the annealed films was as high as 577,000 S-m-1, which is by far the largest value reported to date for any material derived from graphene oxide, and strategies for further improvement without the need to resort to higher annealing temperatures are suggested. Overall, this work opens the prospect of truly achieving a complete restoration of the carbon lattice in graphene oxide materials.