Effects of substrate material and annealing temperature on morphology of zinc oxide films

A two stage chemical deposition (TSCD) technique is used to produce ZnO films on quartz glass (QG), soda lime glass (SLG) and high purity alumina (HPA) from an aqueous solution of zinc complex. The effects of the substrate material on the chemical composition and morphology of the deposited layer are investigated. The effects of different annealing temperatures (180, 300, 500 and 800°C) on the morphology and orientation of the ZnO crystallites are also determined. X-ray diffraction diffractograms show that above 300°C, the intensity of (002) peak considerably decreases with increasing temperature. Results indicate that changing the substrate from QG to SLG does not significantly influence the chemical composition of the deposited layer. These variations can be attributed to different factors including (a) physorption of cold complex solution, (b) growth behaviour of the nuclei forming on the substrate and (c) the surface energy of the substrate. Owing to the existence of the morphological differences bound to the molecular nature of the substrate, properties of the coatings are found not to be the same. HPA substrate causes clustering of the ZnO crystallites, while QG and SLG substrates do not distinguishably show this effect. Observations show that clustering is intensified by annealing at temperatures > 180°C.