Research of Deposition Condition and Structural Properties of ZnO Films Grown by RF Magnetron Sputtering

The zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrate by RF magnetron sputtering technique. Discussed were the relationships of microstructure, surface morphology and preferred orientation of ZnO films with the deposition parameters, such as substrate temperature, oxygen partial pressure, and final annealing treatment, etc. It is found that the preferred orientation and microstructure of ZnO films are strongly affected by the deposition temperature and oxygen partial pressure. Therefore, the various deposition conditions are further investigated and compared in detail to obtain the optimum sputtering conditions: the sputtering temperature is lower than 300℃ , and with 50W RF power,Ar:O2=20:5(in volume)and 550~600 ℃ annealing temperature. Based on these conditions, an excellent ZnO films with high c-axis orientation are realized.