ZnO thin ®lms deposited on various LiNbO3 substrates by RF-sputtering

ZnO thin ®lms were deposited using a RF-sputtering technique on several kinds of LiNbO3 substrates having the surfaces prepared by cutting at speci®ed crystalline orientations. The substrate temperatures during deposition were changed from 300 to 703 K in various oxygen±argon atmosphere. From X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern, a strong ZnO [002] re¯ection peak was obtained for the ®lm on z-cut LiNbO3 substrate. The peak intensity was dependent on gas ¯ow rate of oxygen to argon, substrate temperature and anneal temperature. When the ®lm was deposited on z-cut LiNbO3 substrate at 603 K in Ar (80%) and O2 (20%) gas, it showed the crystalline growth highly oriented at (0 0 2) direction. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved