Effects of thermal treatment on the formation of the columnar structures in ZnO thin films grown on p-Si (100) substrates

Abstract

X-ray diffraction patterns showed that crystallinity of the annealed ZnO films was improved by thermal annealing. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that columnar structures were preferentially formed in ZnO thin films due to thermal annealing, and electron energy loss spectroscopy images showed that annealing caused O2 atoms to diffuse out from the upper region in the ZnO thin film. The effects of thermal treatment on the formation of the columnar structures in ZnO thin films grown on Si (100) substrates are described on the basis of the experimental results.