Epitaxial ZnO Films Grown on Sapphire (001) by Ultraviolet‐Assisted Pulsed Laser Deposition

Abstract

ZnO thin films were grown on Si(100) and sapphire (001) substrates by an in situ ultraviolet‐assisted pulsed laser deposition technique. Using this technique, highly textured ZnO films were grown on Si substrates even at 100°C. Films grown on sapphire (001) at temperatures higher than 400°C, were found to be epitaxial by Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and X‐ray pole figure measurements, with and . The minimum yield of the channeling RBS spectra recorded from films deposited at 550°C was around 2%, while the full width at half maximum of the rocking curve on the (002) diffraction peak was only 0.168°. Such values, characteristic for high quality epitaxial ZnO films, are identical with those previously reported for films grown by conventional pulsed laser deposition at 750–800°C substrate temperatures. © 2000 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.