Structural, optical, and electrical properties of ZnO thin films deposited by sol-gel dip-coating process at low temperature

Sol-gel dip-coating was used to prepare ZnO thin films with relaxed residual stress by lowering the deposition temperature from room temperature (25°C) to -25°C. The effect of deposition temperature on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and reflectance accessory, and the van der Pauw method. All the thin films were deposited successfully onto quartz substrates and exhibited fibrous root morphology. At low temperature, the deposition rate was higher than at room temperature (RT) because of enhanced viscosity of the films. Further, lowering the deposition temperature affected the structural, optical, and electrical properties of the ZnO thin films. The surface morphology, residual stress, PL properties, and optical transmittance and reflectance of the films were measured, and this information was used to determine the absorption coefficient, optical band gap, Urbach energy, refractive index, refractive index at infinite wavelength, extinction coefficient, single-oscillator energy, dispersion energy, average oscillator wavelength, moments M _-1 and M _-3, dielectric constant, optical conductivity, and electrical resistivity of the ZnO thin films.