Ozone-assisted atomic layer deposited ZnO thin films for multifunctional device applications

Abstract

We demonstrate the growth temperature dependence of film thickness and surface roughness of ZnO films grown by atomic layer deposition using ozone as an oxidizer. The significantly low growth rate of the film using O3 precursor is attributed to the recombinative surface loss of O3. The variation of the spatial uniformity inferred from the surface roughness of the ZnO films and the O3 concentration was explained by a transition from reaction- to recombination-limited growth. We have fabricated a metal–oxide–semiconductor device, consisting of an insulating ZnO layer using an O3 source, between metallic and semiconducting Al : ZnO layers. The device demonstrates a remarkable resistive switching behaviour. The electrochemical migration of oxygen vacancies, which is created in the vicinity of the interface of ZnO semiconductor–ZnO insulator, drives the resistive switching behaviour. This significant result produced on the all-oxide-based device fabricated by atomic layer deposited ZnO can have significant impact for multifunctional applications.