Growth of InN thin films on ZnO substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

We have studied the microstructure property of InN epitaxial films grown on ZnO substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. We found that the In2O3 compound was produced on ZnO substrate and many pits were formed on the InN films when InN was directly grown on ZnO substrate with the N/In flux ratio less than 40. We demonstrated that the quality of InN film was significantly improved when the In2O3 layer was used as a buffer to prevent the reaction between In and the ZnO substrate.