Influence of annealing temperature on the structural, topographical and optical properties of sol–gel derived ZnO thin films

• Published in: Materials letters Vol. 65; no. 17; pp. 2572 - 2574
• Main Authors: Sengupta, Joydip, Sahoo, R.K., Bardhan, K.K., Mukherjee, C.D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.09.2011
• Subjects: Annealing; Atomic force microscopy; Crystallinity; Grain size; Optical properties; Sol gel process; Sol–gel preparation; Thin films; Transmittance; X-ray diffraction; Zinc oxide; Zinc oxide thin film; X-ray diffraction; Sol–gel preparation; Atomic force microscopy; Annealing; Zinc oxide thin film; Optical properties
• ISSN: 0167-577X; 1873-4979
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matlet.2011.06.021

This investigation deals with the effect of annealing temperature on the structural, topographical and optical properties of Zinc Oxide thin films prepared by sol–gel method. The structural properties were studied using X-ray diffraction and the recorded patterns indicated that all the films had a preferred orientation along (002) plane and the crystallinity along with the grain size were augmented with annealing temperature. The topographical modification of the films due to heat treatment was probed by atomic force microscopy which revealed that annealing roughened the surface of the film. The optical properties were examined by a UV–visible spectrophotometer which exhibited that maximum transmittance reached nearly 90% and it diminished with increasing annealing temperature.