Structural and optical properties of nano-crystalline ZnO thin films synthesized by sol–gel method

Nano-crystalline ZnO thin films on glass substrates have been prepared by sol–gel method at annealing temperatures of 300–550 °C. Zinc acetate, anhydrous ethanol, and mono-ethanolamine were used as raw materials. The thermal behaviors curves of the dried gel were examined and found that evaporation of solvent and the decomposition of the organics have completed before 250 °C. The effect of thermal annealing on structural and optical properties was investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns showed the gradual increase in orientation of (0 0 2) along c-axis. The transmittance spectra revealed the high transmission (T > 80% above annealing 400 °C) in visible region. The optical band gap (E g) of the samples is in the range from 3.24 to 3.28 eV. The photoluminescence spectra in ultraviolet were studied and found the continuous increased intensity of peaks at 387 and 393 nm respectively from intrinsic emission and near the band edge emission. Surface micrographs was observed by the atomic force microscopy and found the larger grain size and the compacter morphology before 500 °C. However, the excessive annealing temperature at 550 °C deteriorated the structural and optical properties of the samples. The transmittance is still enhanced as rising annealing temperature up to 500 °C which is more attributed to the decrease in grain boundaries and defect concentration. The poor transmission of films annealed at low temperatures is attributed to unsatisfactory crystalline quality. The stable and high transparency (>80%) in the visible region is presented above 400 °C. The UV–Vis transmittance spectra of ZnO thin films at different annealing temperature.