Zinc oxide films deposited by radio frequency plasma magnetron sputtering technique

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide band gap transparent conductive oxide (TCO) material with a lot of potential applications including transparent thin-film sensors, transistors (TFTs), solar cells, and window insulation systems. In this work, ZnO films were deposited on glass substrates by the radio frequency (RF) plasma magnetron sputtering deposition technique. The effects of the RF power on the properties of the ZnO films were elucidated. The influences of the RF power on the surface morphology, structural, and optical properties of the ZnO films were investigated by Mahr surface profilometer, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and ultraviolet–visible (UV–VIS) spectrophotometer. To allow for accurate comparison of the power effects, ZnO films with similar thickness deposited at different RF powers were examined. The RF power effects on the properties of the ZnO films are revealed and discussed in this paper.