Preparation and characteristics of ZnO thin films deposited on glass substrates

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) films were deposited onto etched and unetched glass substrates using RIF sputtering technique. Highly oriented ZnO thin films were successfully prepared on glass substrates under an optimized sputtering condition. It was found that the substrate etching greatly enhanced the film crystallinity and adherent strength of the ZnO thin films on glass substrates. In photoluminescence (PL) studies at room temperature for wavelengths between 350 nm and 640 nm, we have observed a single exciton peak around 380 nm and a very weak deep-level emission indicating that the concentration of defects responsible for the deep-level emission is low. X-ray diffraction, SEM and a Scratch Adhesion Tester were used to examine the film crystallinity and adhesion on the etched and unetched glass substrates.