Characterization of the Structural and Electrical Properties of Ion Beam Sputtered ZnO Films

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We report the structural and electrical properties of ion beam sputtered ZnO films vacuum annealed at varying temperatures. XRD results revealed that the films grow along the c -axis. The crystallite sizes increase from ~8 to ~30 nm upon annealing at 800 º C. Annealing aided to recover the compressive strain and regain the standard lattice parameter values. The RMS surface roughness increased to ~5.0 nm after annealing at 800 º C as observed in AFM micrographs. Increased resistivity on the annealed films suggested that the oxygen vacancies are compensated by de-trapped oxygen at grain boundaries.