High quality c-axis oriented ZnO thin-film obtained at very low pre-heating temperature

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the successful fabrication of highly c-axis oriented ZnO thin-films using a low pre-heating temperature via spin-coating, optimizing process parameters for improved film quality.

Contribution

It introduces a novel low-temperature pre-heating process for ZnO thin-films and employs response surface methodology for process optimization.

Findings

High c-axis orientation achieved at low pre-heating temperatures

Optimized parameters improve surface uniformity and film quality

X-ray diffraction confirms high crystallinity

Abstract

Highly oriented ZnO thin-film has been obtained at a very low pre-heating temperature, with the spin-coating sol-gel technique. The dependence of the c-axis orientation on the pre-heating temperature has been studied with experimental design and response surface techniques to optimize the deposition process with respect to c-axis orientation, and surface uniformity. The optimization variables selected for this study are: pre-heating temperature, spin-coating speed and number of coating layers. The films are probed with X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy.