Epitaxial growth of ZnO thin films on SiC prepared by chemical solution deposition

Zinc oxide thin films have emerged as one of the most promising oxide materials owing to their optical and electrical properties, together with their high chemical and mechanical stability. Chemical solution deposition is an attractive technique for obtaining ZnO thin films and has the advantages of easy control of the film composition and easy fabrication of a larger area thin film at low cost. In this work, epitaxial ZnO thin films on 6H-SiC(0001) substrates were prepared by using a chemical solution deposition with a zinc naphthenate precursor. As-deposited films were pyrolyzed at 500 degrees C for 10 min in air and finally annealed at 600 degrees C, 700 degrees C, 800 degrees C, and 900 degrees C for 30 min in air. The in-plane alignment of the films was investigated by Xray pole-figure analysis. A field emission-scanning electron microscope, a scanning probe microscope, and a He-Cd laser (325nm) were used to analyze the surface morphology, the surface roughness and photoluminescence of the films.