RAPID THERMAL ANNEALING OF THIN ZNO FILMS

Thin ZnO films are sputtered on silicon substrates. The films are annealed by rapid thermal annealing in oxygen and nitrogen atmosphere. X-ray diffraction methods are used to estimate the lattice constants, the grain size, and the lattice strain. Higher temperatures lead to decreasing strain and increasing grain size. From the obtained activation energies of the recrystallization process in dependence on annealing atmosphere it is concluded that the recrystallization process is diffusion controlled. The lattice constants at higher temperatures approach the theoretical values and differ for different ambients, caused by the resulting different stoichiometry.