Nanocrystalline ZnO Thin Film Deposition on Flexible Substrate by Low-Temperature Sputtering Process for Plastic Displays

摘要

A low temperature sputter deposition process is adopted to fabricate nanocrystalline ZnO thin films on plastic (polyethylene terepthalate) substrate. Very good crystalline films are synthesized at a substrate temperature around 120℃. Structural and microstructural analyses confirm the proper phase formation of the nanomaterial with an average nanoparticle size around 5-10 nm. Optical transmission analysis of the film deposited on plastic substrate depicts nearly 90% visible transmittance with a direct bandgap around 3.56 eV. This cost-effective, low-temperature fabrication of nanocrystalline thin film with very good structural and optical properties will find important applications in plastic display technology. Also the process is a vacuum-based clean process, which is compatible to CMOS-IC fabrication techniques and therefore, can easily be integrated with modern solid state device fabrication processes for diverse device applications.