Amakali, T, Daniel, LS, Uahengo, V et al. (2 more authors) (2020) Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Molecular Precursor and Sol–Gel Methods. Crystals, 10 (2). p. 132. ISSN 2073-4352
Abstract
Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a versatile and inexpensive semiconductor with a wide direct band gap that has applicability in several scientific and technological fields. In this work, we report the synthesis of ZnO thin films via two simple and low-cost synthesis routes, i.e., the molecular precursor method (MPM) and the sol–gel method, which were deposited successfully on microscope glass substrates. The films were characterized for their structural and optical properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization showed that the ZnO films were highly c-axis (0 0 2) oriented, which is of interest for piezoelectric applications. The surface roughness derived from atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis indicates that films prepared via MPM were relatively rough with an average roughness (Ra) of 2.73 nm compared to those prepared via the sol–gel method (Ra = 1.55 nm). Thin films prepared via MPM were more transparent than those prepared via the sol–gel method. The optical band gap of ZnO thin films obtained via the sol–gel method was 3.25 eV, which falls within the range found by other authors. However, there was a broadening of the optical band gap (3.75 eV) in thin films derived from MPM.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | zinc oxide; molecular precursor method; crystallite size; optical band gap |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 15 Apr 2020 15:20 |
Last Modified: | 15 Apr 2020 15:20 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/cryst10020132 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:159343 |