Effect of electron bombardment on the properties of ZnO thin films

Zinc oxide thin films deposited on quartz substrates were subjected to electron beam irradiation. The effect of electron bombardment on the structural, optical and luminescent properties of the film has been investigated. The electron bombardment leads to better crystallinity, enhanced UV emission and a red shift of 0.025 eV in the band gap of ZnO thin films. The changes in the material property are ascribed to the surface annealing effect of electron beam irradiation. However, the annealing effects induced by electron beam are found to be distinct compared to the high temperature (800 °C) thermal annealing.