Preparation of c-axis-oriented zinc-oxide thin films and the study of their microstructure and optical properties


Aslan M., Oral A., Mensur E., Gul A., Basaran E.

SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS, vol.82, no.4, pp.543-552, 2004 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

Abstract

c-axis-oriented zinc-oxide (ZnO) thin films were prepared on microscope glass substrates by sol-gel deposition. A homogeneous and stable solution was prepared by dissolving zinc-acetate 2-hydrate (ZnAc) in 2-propanol and diethanolamine. Crystalline ZnO thin films were obtained following an annealing process at temperatures between 450degreesC and 550degreesC for 1 h. Increasing annealing temperature increased the grain size and the c-axis orientation. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed single-phase ZnO with hexagonal zincite structure. The absorption edge analysis revealed that the optical band-gap energy for the films were between 3.26 and 3.28 eV and electronic transition was direct transition type. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.