RETRACTED: New perspective on morphological features of the zinc oxide thin films as a gas sensor

Abstract

In this experimental research, the effects of the thermal oxidation time on the morphological characteristics of ZnO thin films and the impact of these features on the gas response of samples were investigated. For this purpose, the thin layers of zinc were deposited on glass substrates by DC magnetron sputtering method. To oxidation the samples and produce zinc oxide thin films the thermal oxidation method was used. The X-ray diffraction analysis is used to specify the deposited thin layers. The results of the Scherrer formula showed that the grain size of the grown ZnO thin films was increased with increasing oxidation time. The efficiency of gas sensor of deposited samples at different thermal oxidation times was investigated. The results show that the increase in the oxidation time (which leads to the increase in ZnO grain size) leads to the reduction of gas response α. Also, To study the effects of the morphological characteristics of synthesized ZnO thin films on the gas response, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis, the Mountains Map Premium 7.3 (64-bit version) software and the Gwyddion software were used. By using the results of motifs analysis and the statistical parameters of samples, it could be concluded that the gas response of the ZnO thin films decreased with increasing the surface roughness, density and intensity of peaks on the surfaces of the samples. Also, the results show that the gas response α increased with increasing temperature and this increase of gas response is more intense at higher temperatures. The results of this paper provide new perspectives for the researcher in this field.