ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Ion-Assisted Deposition Methods

Abstract
Transparent conducting ZnO films were prepared by an ion-assisted deposition method. The glass substrate was irradiated with Ar ions during deposition of amorphous films and the c-axis-oriented ZnO film with the lowest resistivity is obtained when the growing film is irradiated with Ar plasma. Optical emission lines due to Ar, Zn2, Zn and O of neutral species were detected. In particular, the ratio of emission line intensity O(777 nm)/Zn(635 nm) is closely related with film properties. The control of plasma conditions by the check of the emission line intensity provides a method of obtaining a high-quality transparent conducting ZnO film.