Effect of RF power on optical and electrical properties of ZnO thin film by magnetron sputtering

Zinc oxide is an important fluorescence material due to its excellent luminescence efficiency and low voltage required to produce green light. In this study, the RF reactive magnetron sputtering system was used to deposit the transparent (ZnO:Zn) thin films on glass substrates. The effect of RF sputtering power and heat treatment on the photoluminescence (PL) and resistivity were studied. It has been found that increasing RF sputtering power improves the PL efficiency. After heat treatment in argon atmosphere, the crystalline structure of the ZnO film is improved and the (0 0 0 2) preferred orientation is enhanced. The resistivity of the as-deposited film cannot be detected. After annealing, the resistivity is in the range 10−1–10−3 Ω cm−1.