Effect of LiNbO3 polarity on the structural, optical and acoustic properties of epitaxial ZnO and MgxZn1−xO films

Abstract

The effect of LiNbO3 substrate polarization on a charge density at the interface with epitaxial ZnO and MgxZn1−xO films was studied in comparison with ZnO films on dielectric sapphire substrates. An excitonic emission and optical properties such as band gap energy, refraction index, absorption and reflectivity of the ZnO/LiNbO3 structures were studied. The effect of interface charges on the performance of surface acoustic waves with frequency of 2.7 GHz was investigated, as well. The stimulated cavity mode emission was observed due to attained quasi-phase matching conditions for thin ZnO films on sapphire at high laser excitation power. The positive polarization of the ferroelectric substrate induced the band bending of the semiconductor layer, resulting in the accumulation of the negative charges at the ferroelectric/semiconductor interface, which induced an increased reflectivity, a generation of oxygen emission lines in PL spectra under laser excitation, and an increased electromechanical coupling of surface acoustic waves. The negative polarization of the substrate increased atomic peening during sputtering deposition, which induced deteriorated quality of texture and in-plane orientation and increased the residual stresses in ZnO and MgxZn1−xO films.