Enhancing the PLD Films Quality Through an In Situ Method

Pulsed laser deposition has emerged as an attractive depositing route due to its merit capabilities. This study offers an applicable technique in the PLD method for improving the film’s characteristics, using an in situ growth and annealing the seed layer. This practical strategy, and adjusting the seed layer’s thickness and annealing temperature, obtained a film with high crystal quality. First, we studied the effects of exploiting a seed layer on the ZnO film’s quality. Then seed layers were annealed at various temperatures to analyze the structure and defect formation in the final films. Considering the peak intensity of the photoluminescence spectra and X-ray diffraction data confirmed that the lattice parameters of the deposited films directly depend on the concentration of the Zn defects. According to the PL spectra, the intensities of UV emissions related to the Zn concentration reduced as the annealing temperature increased. Both XRD and PL results proved that the film with the higher seed layer thickness, which was annealed at 400 °C, notably indicates an amended lattice structure with a lower concentration of Zn defects.