ZnSe films deposited on crystalline GaAs and amorphous quartz substrates by means of pulsed laser ablation technique

ZnSe films were deposited by pulsed laser ablation on a crystalline GaAs substrate and on an amorphous quartz substrate. The deposition process was performed with the same growth parameters. The films were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, reflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction spectra have demonstrated that the films grow in a highly oriented way but having different orientations, i.e. the films deposited on GaAs grow (100)-oriented and the films deposited on quartz grow (111)-oriented. Reflectance spectra as a function of the temperature have been analysed by means of the classical oscillator model, in order to obtain the temperature dependence of the band gap energy. This gives results comparable to those of ZnSe single crystals for ZnSe on GaAs, but it is red-shifted for ZnSe on quartz, because of lattice and thermal strains. The photoluminescence measurements at T = 10 K confirm the better quality of ZnSe deposited on GaAs and show that pulsed laser ablation is a promising technique to grow films having intrinsic luminescence even on an amorphous substrate. Received 29 May 2002 Published online 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: giuseppe.perna@ba.infn.it     

Analysis of optical spectra of CdS and CdSe films deposited on a sapphire substrate by laser ablation technique

CdSe and CdS films, deposited on a sapphire substrate by means of pulsed laser ablation technique, have been investigated by means of reflectivity and photoluminescence measurements in order to study the effect of such a transparent substrate on the optical properties of the deposited epilayers. The reflectivity spectra at low temperature have been studied by means of an analytical model which permits one to obtain the energies of the excitonic resonances. The photoluminescence spectra show that our CdSe and CdS films present excitonic emission at low temperature, differently from the same films deposited on quartz. The temperature dependence of the excitonic energy has been analysed by taking into account the contribution of both the thermal expansion and electron-phonon interaction. The exciton linewidth has been analysed according to well known phenomenological models. Received 21 June 2001 and Received in final form 18 November 2001     

Optical properties of Zn0.5Cd0.5Se thin films grown on InP by molecular beam epitaxy

We report photoluminescence (PL) and reflectivity measurements of Zn_0.5Cd_0.5Se epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on InP substrates. The low-temperature PL spectra are dominated by asymmetric lines, which can be deconvoluted into two Gaussian peaks with a separation of ∼8 meV. The behavior of these peaks is studied as a function of excitation intensity and temperature, revealing that these are free exciton (FE) and bound exciton emission lines. Two lower energy emission lines are also observed and assigned to the first and second longitudinal optical phonon replicas of the FE emission. The temperature dependence of the intensity, line width, and energy of the dominant emission lines are described by an Arrhenius plot, a Bose-Einstein type relationship, Varshni's and Bose-Einstein equations, respectively.     

Influence of Al-doping on the structure and optical properties of ZnO films

Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) thin films with c-axis preferred orientation were deposited on glass substrates using the radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of Al concentrations on the microstructure and the luminescence properties of the ZnO:Al thin films were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and fluorescence spectrophotometer. The results showed that the crystallization of the films was promoted by appropriate Al concentrations; the photoluminescence spectra (PL) of the samples were measured at room temperature. Strong blue peak located at 437 nm (2.84 eV) and two weak green peaks located at about 492 nm (2.53 eV) and 524 nm (2.37 eV) were observed from the PL spectra of the four samples. The origin of these emissions was discussed. In addition, absorption and transmittance properties of the samples were researched by UV spectrophotometer; the UV absorption edge shifted to a shorter wavelength first as Al was incorporated, and then to a longer wavelength with the increasing Al concentrations. The optical band gaps calculated based on the quantum confinement model are in good agreement with the experimental values.     

Hardnes and resistivity of amorphous carbon thin films deposited by laser ablation

Amorphous carbon thin films were deposited by laser ablation of a graphite target, using the fundamental line of a 5 ns Nd:YAG laser. Deposition was carried out as a function of the plasma parameters (mean kinetic ion energy and plasma density), determined by means of a planar probe. In the selected working regimes the optical emission from the plasma is mainly due to atomic species, namely C⁺ (426.5 nm); however, there is also emission from other atomic species and molecular carbon. The hardness and resistivity could be varied in the range between 10 and 25 GPa, and 10⁸ and 10¹¹ Ω cm, respectively. The maximum values were obtained at a 200 eV ion energy and 6×10¹³ cm⁻³ plasma density, where the maximum quantity of C–C sp³ bonds was formed, as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.     

The Al-doping and post-annealing treatment effects on the structural and optical properties of ZnO:Al thin films deposited on Si substrate

Al-doped ZnO (ZnO:Al) thin films with different Al contents were deposited on Si substrates using the radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed that the crystallinity of the films was promoted by appropriate Al content (0.75 wt.%). Then the ZnO:Al film with Al content of 0.75 wt.% was annealed in vacuum at different temperatures. XRD patterns revealed that the residual compressive stress decreased at higher annealing temperatures. While the surface roughness of the ZnO:Al film annealed at 300 °C became smoother, those of the ZnO:Al films annealed at 600 and 750 °C became rougher. The photoluminescence (PL) measurements at room temperature revealed a violet, two blue and a green emission. The origin of these emissions was discussed and the mechanism of violet and blue emission of ZnO:Al thin films were suggested. We concluded that the defect centers are mainly ascribed to antisite oxygen and interstitial Zn in annealed (in vacuum) ZnO:Al films.     

Epitaxial GaN films deposited on sapphire substrates prepared by the sol-gel method

Thin films of GaN have been successfully deposited on Al₂O₃ (0001) substrates by the sol-gel technique. The method, in addition to being is simple and cost-effective, results in epitaxial films. The films have been characterized by photoluminescence spectroscopy.     

Effects of cooling rate and post-heat treatment on properties of ZnO thin films deposited by sol-gel method

Sol-gel spin-coated ZnO thin films are cooled with different rates after the pre-heat treatment. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, and photoluminescence (PL) were carried out to investigate the effects of the cooling rate during pre-heat treatment on structural and optical properties of the ZnO thin films. The ZnO thin films cooled slowly exhibit mountain chain structure while the ones cooled rapidly have smooth surface. The ZnO thin films cooled rapidly have higher c-axis orientation compared to the ones cooled slowly. The narrower and the higher near-band-edge emission (NBE) peaks are observed in the ZnO thin films cooled rapidly.     

Influence of Hf doping concentration on microstructure and optical properties of HfxZn1−xO thin films

Hf_xZn_1−xO thin films (x=3, 7, 10 and 15 mol%) were deposited on Si (1 0 0) using pulsed laser deposition. The influence of the Hf concentration on the microstructure and optical properties of the films was studied. It is found that Hf ions can be effectively doped into ZnO and all films crystallize in the hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferred c-axis orientation. The lattice constants of Hf_xZn_1−xO films increase with the Hf contents. Two ultraviolet peaks centered at about 364 and 380 nm coexist in the fluorescent spectra. With increasing the Hf contents, the intensity of fluorescent peaks enhances remarkably. At the same time the energy gaps gradually increase, while the positions of ultraviolet peaks remain unchanged. The mechanism of luminescent emission for Hf_xZn_1−xO films was discussed.     

Influence of size effect and sputtering conditions on the crystallinity and optical properties of ZnO thin films

The effects of the thickness variation, substrate type and annealing on the crystallinity parameters, luminescent and optical properties of the zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were reported. The thin films were deposited on the glass and the amorphous quartz substrates by the standard RF-magnetron sputtering method using ZnO targets in the argon atmosphere. It has been found that the films deposited on the glass substrate manifest a clear size effect. Both the structural and the optical parameters show clearly minima on their thickness dependences. It has been shown that annealing of the comparatively thick ZnO films leads to increase of the crystallite sizes that are followed by a considerable rise of the cathodoluminescence intensity. The corresponding model of the crystallite growth is proposed.     

Structural characterization and optical properties of ZnSe thin films

Zinc selenide (ZnSe) thin films (d = 0.11-0.93 μm) were deposited onto glass substrates by the quasi-closed volume technique under vacuum. Their structural characteristics were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The experiments showed that the films are polycrystalline and have a zinc blende (cubic) structure. The film crystallites are preferentially oriented with the (1 1 1) planes parallel to the substrate surface. AFM images showed that the films have a grain like surface morphology. The average roughness, R_a = 3.3-6.4 nm, and the root mean square roughness, R_rms = 5.4-11.9 nm, were calculated and found to depend on the film thickness and post-deposition heat treatment.The spectral dependence of the absorption coefficient was determined from transmission spectra, in the range 300-1400 nm.The values of optical bandgap were calculated from the absorption spectra, E_g = 2.6-2.7 eV.The effect of the deposition conditions and post-deposition heat treatment on the structural and optical characteristics was investigated.     

Structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films prepared by sol-gel method with different thickness

In this work, ZnO thin films with different thickness were prepared by sol-gel method on glass substrates and the structural and optical properties of these films were studied by X-ray diffractometer, atomic force microscope, UV-visible spectrophotometer, ellipsometer and fluorophotometer, respectively. The structural analyses show that all the samples have a wurtzite structure and are preferentially oriented along the c-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. The growth process of highly c-axis oriented ZnO thin films derived from sol-gel method is a self-template process. With the increase of film thickness, the structural disorder decreases and the crystalline quality of the films is gradually improved. A transition of crystal growth mode from vertical growth to lateral growth is observed and the transition point is found between 270 and 360 nm thickness. The optical analyses show that with the increase of film thickness, both the refractive index and ultraviolet emission intensity are improved. However, the transmittance in the visible range is hardly influenced by the film thickness, and the averages are all above 80%.     

Optical characterisation of CuInSe2 thin films prepared by two-stage process

Optical absorption spectra of CuInSe₂ chalcopyrite semiconductor films prepared using a two-stage technique were investigated. In addition to absorption measurements, energy-dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) and X-ray diffraction measurements (XRD) were also performed. Direct bandgap energy values for the CuInSe₂ films were derived from the variation of (αhν)² with energy. All the measurements were performed on samples with various Cu/In ratios. It was determined from the absorption measurements that the materials have strong absorption at the fundamental band edge. The E_g values showed an increasing trend with decreasing Cu/In ratios. Received: 26 May 2000 / Accepted: 31 October 2000 / Published online: 10 January 2001     

Thickness dependence of structural, electrical and optical properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) films deposited on PET substrates

Without intentionally heating the substrates, indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films of thicknesses from 72 nm to 447 nm were prepared on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates by DC reactively magnetron sputtering with pre-deposition substrate surfaces plasma cleaning. The dependence of structural, electrical, and optical properties on the films thickness were systematically investigated. It was found that the crystal grain size increases, while the transmittance, the resistivity, and the sheet resistance decreases as the film thickness was increasing. The thickest film (∼447 nm) was found of the lowest sheet resistance 12.6 Ω/square, and its average optical transmittance (400-800 nm) and the 550 nm transmittance was 85.2% and 90.4%, respectively. The results indicate clearly that dependence of the structural, electrical, and optical properties of the films on the film thickness reflected the improvement of the film crystallinity with the film thickness.     

In-plane anisotropy and stress detection of films deposited by RC technique

A Novel Rotating Cryostat (RC) vacuum system originally designed to fabricate organic layers has been developed in order to prepare magnetic materials for specific applications such as sensors. The RC sputtering system has a rotating drum (substrate holder) and the possibility of using multi-port deposition sources. The source material sputtered by a dc magnetron, which was positioned one of the ports around the RC, was an iron disk (25 mm diameter, 0.8 mm thick, 99.8% pure). Results show that films have exhibited isotropic and anisotropic magnetisation at various running conditions of the RC using a Magneto-Optic Loop Plotter (MOKE) and a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). Estimation of magnetic anisotropy confirms in-plane anisotropy in the films. Moreover, when these films are subjected to a bending stress within the VSM, they show chances in their hysteresis loops. These findings indicate a possible future for this technique to produce sensing devices for stress detection. Received 29 September 2001     

Photoluminescence spectra of thin films containing CdSe/ZnS quantum dots irradiated by 532-nm laser radiation and gamma-rays

We have investigated temporal behavior of the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of thin films containing CdSe/ZnS quantum dots irradiated by 532 nm laser radiation and gamma-rays. Under ∼100 W/cm² laser radiation, the PL intensity (I_PL) increases with irradiation time upto about 500 s and thereafter declines linearly. The wavelength of the PL emission (λ_peak) exhibits a blue-shift with exposure time. Upon simultaneous irradiation by 100 W/cm² 532-nm laser, as well as 0.57 and 1.06 MeV gamma-rays, the temporal behaviors of both I_PL and λ_peak are significantly different; I_PL increases to a saturation level, and the magnitude of the blue-shift in λ_peak is reduced. We discuss possible mechanisms underlying these results.     

Annealing temperature effect on the structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnS thin films

Zinc sulfide thin films were prepared on glass substrates at room temperature using a chemical bath deposition method. The obtained films were annealed at temperatures ranging from 100 to 500 °C in steps of 100 °C for 1 h. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), optical absorption spectra, and electrical measurements. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the deposited films have an amorphous structure, but after being annealed at 500 °C, they change to slightly polycrystalline. The optical constants such as the refractive index (n_r), the extinction coefficient (k), and the real (ε₁) and imaginary (ε₂) parts of the dielectric constant are calculated depending on the annealing temperature. Aside from the ohmic characteristics of the I-V curve, a nonlinear I-V curve owing to the Schottky contact is also found, and the barrier heights (?_bn) for Au/n-ZnS and In/n-ZnS heterojunctions are calculated. The conductivity type was identified by the hot-probe technique.     

Rapid thermal annealing effects on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films deposited on Si substrates

The structural and optical properties of ZnO films deposited on Si substrate following rapid thermal annealing (RTA) have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. After RTA treatment, the XRD spectra have shown an effective relaxation of the residual compressive stress, an increase of the intensity and narrowing of the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the (0 0 2) diffraction peak of the as-grown ZnO film. AFM images show roughening of the film surface due to increase of grain size after RTA. The PL spectrum reveals a significant improvement in the UV luminescence of ZnO films following RTA at 800 °C for 1 min.     

Photoluminescence properties of nitrogen-doped ZnO films deposited on ZnO single crystal substrates by the plasma-assisted reactive evaporation method

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of nitrogen-doped ZnO films (ZnO:N films) grown epitaxially on n-type ZnO single crystal substrates by using the plasma-assisted reactive evaporation method were measured at 5 K. In PL spectra, free exciton emission at about 3.375 eV was very strong and emissions at 3.334 and 3.31 eV were observed. These two emissions are discussed in this paper. The nitrogen concentration in ZnO:N films measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy was 10^19-20 cm⁻³. Current-voltage characteristics of the junction consisting of an n-type ZnO single crystal substrate and ZnO:N film showed good rectification. Also, ultraviolet radiation and visible light were emitted from this junction under a forward bias at room temperature. It is therefore thought that ZnO:N films have good crystallinity and that doped nitrogen atoms play a role as acceptors in ZnO:N films to form a good pn junction. From these phenomena and the excitation intensity dependency of PL spectra, emissions at 3.334 and 3.31 eV were assigned to neutral acceptor-bound exciton (A⁰X) emission and a donor-acceptor pair (DAP) emission due to doped nitrogen, respectively.     

The structural and optical properties of ZnO/Si thin films by RTA treatments

ZnO/Si thin films were prepared by rf magnetron sputtering method and some of the samples were treated by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process at different temperatures ranging from 400 to 800 °C. The effects of RTA treatment on the structural properties were studied by using X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy while optical properties were studied by the photoluminescence measurements. It is observed that the ZnO film annealed at 600 °C reveals the strongest UV emission intensity and narrowest full width at half maximum among the temperature ranges studied. The enhanced UV emission from the film annealed at 600 °C is attributed to the improved crystalline quality of ZnO film due to the effective relaxation of residual compressive stress and achieving maximum grain size.