Comparative study of ZnO thin films prepared by different sol-gel route

The ZnO thin films were prepared froms zinc acetate dihydrate as a main precursor by using sol-gel method and deposited by drainage and dip coating technique. Four different routes and coating techniques were used for the preparation of samples. The morphology, optical, and structural properties of the sol-gels made ZnO thin films were studied with respect to the preparation of sol-gel route, drainage and dip coating techniques. The microstructure of the ZnO thin films and the powders were analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The ZnO thin films prepared in this study were amorphous while its powders were polycrystalline with various diffraction peaks in the X-ray diffraction patterns. The morphology of the film was examined by using scanning electron microscopy. The surface morphology of the ZnO thin films strongly depends on preparation route and deposition technique. The optical characteristics of the samples were obtained by using UV-Visible spectrophotometer at 200–900 nm wavelength. The optical constants (refractive index, extinction coefficient etc.) of the ZnO thin films depend on preparation conditions.