Effect of excimer laser annealing on the properties of ZnO thin film prepared by sol-gel method

Pristine ZnO thin films have been deposited with zinc acetate [Zn(CH3COO)2], mono-ethanolamine (stabilizer), and isopropanol solutions by sol-gel method. After deposition, pristine ZnO thin films have been irradiated by excimer laser (λ = 248, KrF) source with energy density of 50 mJ/cm2 for 30sec. The effect of excimer laser annealing on the optical and structural properties of ZnO thin films are investigated by photoluminescence and field emission scanning electron microscope. As-grown ZnO thin films show a huge peak of visible region and a wide full width at half maximum (FWHM) of UV region due to low quality with amorphous ZnO thin films. After KrF excimer laser annealing, ZnO thin films show intense near-band-edge (NBE) emission and weak deep-level emission. The optically improved pristine ZnO thin films have demonstrated that excimer laser annealing is novel treatment process at room temperature.