Growth and characterization of nonpolar a-plane ZnO films on perovskite oxides with thin homointerlayer

Nonpolar a-plane ZnO thin films were deposited on the single-crystal perovskite SrTiO3 (1 0 0) substrates at 750 degrees C by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The effects of ultrathin 30 nm-thick ZnO buffer layer grown at 300-600 degrees C on the physical properties of ZnO/SrTiO3(STO) thin films are investigated. A high growth temperature of ZnO buffer layer enhances not only the (1 1 0)-texture of ZnO/STO thin films but also the crystalline quality of the film. However, the ZnO/STO thin film without a ZnO buffer layer has a poor crystalline quality comparing to those with the ZnO buffer layer. Atomic force microscopy morphology studies reveal that the ZnO buffer layer largely decreases the surface roughness of the ZnO/STO thin films. This may be because of the thin ZnO buffer layer effectively decreases the stress between the ZnO and STO. The results of X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence spectra show that a high-quality epitaxial ZnO (1 1 0)/STO (1 0 0) thin film that emits UV light at room temperature can be formed with a thin ZnO buffer layer grown at 600 degrees C. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.