Initial formation mechanisms of the supersaturation region and the columnar structure in ZnO thin films grown on n-Si (001) substrates

Abstract

ZnO thin films were grown on n-Si (001) substrates by using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. A cross-sectional bright-field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image showed that small ZnO columnar grains were embedded into large columnar grains, and a selected-area electron diffraction pattern, and an x-ray diffraction pattern showed that the ZnO thin film were nearly c-axis oriented. The evolution of the ZnO columnar structure was analyzed by using the evolution of the strain due to the interaction of the columnar grains, as observed by using high-resolution TEM. The initial formation mechanisms of the supersaturation region and the columnar grains are described.