A new film formation technique, Reactive Ionized Cluster Beam (R-ICB) deposition, is studied to provide metal oxide or nitride thin film devices. Crystallographic and electrical properties of ZnO films prepared by this technique arc described to investigate the characteristics of R-ICB technique. The major results obtained are as follows: (1) the film formation process is closely related to the acceleration voltage (Va) applied to the Zn clusters and the reactive gas, and to the ionized cluster content in the cluster beam which is determined by the electron current for ionization (Ie); (2) epitaxial growth is realized by using sapphire substrates, and thin films deposited onto glass substrates arc preferentially oriented with the c-axis normal to the substrate when Va is in the range of 0 to 500V; (3) films with surface conductivities of 10-10-7V cm-1 are obtained by controlling the growth rate and the acceleration voltages without annealing; (4) cathodoluminescencc spectra of films deposited by R-ICB arc similar to those of a flux grown crystal. © 1979.
