Mechanical Properties and Deformation Behavior of ZnO Thin Films under Illumination

As a wide band gap semiconductor with a large exciton binding energy (60 meV), zinc oxide (ZnO) has many existing and promising future applications. The main objective of this work was to study the mechanical properties and deformation behavior of undoped ZnO thin films grown by direct current magnetron sputtering technique in the light of their possible application on SPM cantilevers. Nanoindentation techniques and scratch tests were carried out in order to investigate mechanical properties of a ZnO thickness series deposited under the same sputtering conditions. Nanoindentation measurements were also applied on specific ZnO/Si and ZnO/glass structures in darkness and under illumination utilizing a low power mercury lamp with the aim of understanding the impact of the UV irradiation on the mechanical properties of the ZnO layer.