Atomic arrangement and formation mechanism of c-axis oriented ZnO thin films grown on p-Si substrates

Abstract

The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern for the ZnO films grown on Si (100) substrates indicates that the grown ZnO films have a strong c-axis orientation. The pole figure indicates that ZnO thin films have columnars with the grains of the [0002] crystallographic axis perpendicular to the Si (100) substrate, indicative of the random rotational orientations along the c-axis. Selected area electron diffraction pattern (SADP) of the ZnO/Si (100) heterostructures shows that the ZnO preferential oriented film is formed on the Si substrate. A possible atomic arrangement of the crystal structure and the formation mechanism of the c-axis orientated ZnO thin films grown on p-Si substrates are discussed on the basis of the XRD, the pole figure, and SADP results.