Deposition of ZnO multilayer on LiNbO3 single crystals by DC-magnetron sputtering

► Deposition of ZnO multilayer on LiNbO3 substrate is followed by thermal oxidation of Zn thin films. ► Optical and structural properties of ZnO thin films are analyzed by PL, XRD, SEM, and AFM. ► Multilayer of ZnO showed high transmittance and low structural defect due to a lower PL intensity and Urbach energy. ► Average grain size in XRD, SEM and AFM images for multilayer of ZnO was lower than monolayer of ZnO thin films. ► Applying multilayer coating method leads to decrease of surface roughness and optical loss on LiNbO3 waveguides.