Dependence of photoconductivity on the crystallite orientations and porosity of polycrystalline ZnO films

Hexagonal ZnO films deposited on quartz glass, sapphire and glass substrates by sol–gel coating are found to be randomly oriented; maximum randomness is found in the film on quartz glass substrate. All the films are ultra-violet (UV) sensitive at around 360 nm sensitivity being maximum for the film with maximum randomness in the crystallite orientations. The film on quartz showed the lowest dark current and maximum photoresponse, which is related to the lowering of the barrier heights, introduced by the adsorbed oxygen at the grain boundaries. Faster decay in photocurrent is observed for the film deposited on glass, which is attributed due to the smaller crystallite sizes with porous microstructure of the film.