Characterization of ZnO Thin Films Fabricated by Atomic Layer Deposition with Various Temperatures

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is utilized to grow high performance zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films, where the effects of ALD process temperature on the thin film properties are also studied in this work. Some major properties of the ALD ZnO films are characterized and compared with those of sputtered ZnO films. Significant differences are observed that the electrical resistances of the ALD ZnO films are largely improved, while the optical transmittances also increase. Nevertheless, the adhesion and mechanical properties of the ALD films are worse than the sputtered films because of the weak bonding in the ALD process. For various substrate temperatures, the ALD ZnO films with 200°C behave the best performance.