Study of deposition parameters on the RF magnetron sputtered ZnO films on Mo/SiNx/Si substrates

In this study, the high quality ZnO films deposited on Mo/SiN
_x
/Si substrates were investigated. The Mo film was deposited on SiN
_x
/Si substrates by DC sputtering. Then, the zinc oxide (ZnO) film was deposited onto the Mo film by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The influence of sputtering power and sputtering pressure on the microstructures of ZnO films were investigated and discussed. The analysis of the crystalline structures and morphologies of the thin films was carried out using X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope. The experimental results showed that the optimal ZnO films were obtained at sputtering power of 80W and sputtering pressure of 20 mTorr with epitaxial grain growth and a preferred (002) orientation.