Abstract
This study reports the surface roughness and nanomechanical characteristics of ZnO thin films deposited on the various substrates, obtained by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), nanoindentation and nanoscratch techniques. ZnO thin films are deposited on (a- and c-axis) sapphires and (0001) 6H-SiC substrates by using the pulsed-laser depositions (PLD) system. Continuous stiffness measurements (CSM) technique is used in the nanoindentation tests to determine the hardness and Young’s modulus of ZnO thin films. The importance of the ratio (H/Efilm) of elastic to plastic deformation during nanoindentation of ZnO thin films on their behaviors in contact-induced damage during fabrication of ZnO-based devices is considered. In addition, the friction coefficient of ZnO thin films is also presented here.
Highlights
ZnO semiconductor, having a wide direct band gap of 3.37 eV at room temperature, has attracted much attention because of its wide applications in various optoelectronic and electronic devices
The successful fabrication of devices based on ZnO thin films requires an understanding of the mechanical characteristics in addition to its optical and electrical performances
The mechanical properties of ZnO thin films were measured by nanoindentation with a continuous stiffness measurements (CSM) technique [17]
Summary
ZnO semiconductor, having a wide direct band gap of 3.37 eV at room temperature, has attracted much attention because of its wide applications in various optoelectronic and electronic devices. Nanoindentation is an instrumented depthsensing technique that has enabled the measurement of mechanical properties from small volumes of materials and thin films. E.g., hardness and elastic modulus, can be determined directly from indentation load versus displacement curves [3,4,5,6].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
