Growth process observation of homoepitaxial ZnO thin films using optical emission spectra during pulsed laser deposition

Homoepitaxial ZnO thin films were prepared on the Zn-polar or O-polar ZnO substrates by pulsed laser deposition method. Optical emission spectroscopy of the plume was carried out to estimate O/Zn flux ratio under the various deposition conditions such as oxygen pressure, laser fluence, and the distance between target and substrate. It is revealed that the O/Zn flux ratio could be controlled by laser fluence, oxygen pressure, and target–substrate distance. Zn-rich O/Zn flux promotes pit formation and O-rich flux yields the three-dimensional growth. The difference of the growth process on Zn-polar or O-polar substrates is also discussed.