Growth and characterization of ZnO thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract ZnO thin films on (0 0 1) sapphire substrates have been deposited by pulsed laser deposition technique using a Nd:YAG laser with the wavelength of 355 nm at an oxygen pressure of 350 mTorr. In order to investigate the effect of the deposition conditions on the properties of ZnO thin films, the experiment has been performed at various substrate temperatures in the range of 200–700°C. According to XRD, (0 0 2) textured ZnO films of high crystalline quality have been obtained by pulsed laser deposition technique. However, the intensity of UV emission is mostly dependent upon the stoichiometry of ZnO films, rather than the crystalline quality.