Influence of VI/II ratios on the growth of ZnO thin films on sapphire substrates by low temperature MOCVD

We investigated the structural, electrical, and optical properties of ZnO thin films grown at different VI/II ratios on sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed the epitaxial nature with a reduced dislocation density of the ZnO films grown at increased VI/II ratios. The carrier concentration of the films increased to 4.9 × 10¹⁸ cm^{- 3} and their resistivity decreased to 1.4 × 10^{- 1} Ω cm at a VI/II ratio of 513.4 μmol/min. The ZnO films also showed good optical transmittance (> 80%) in the visible and near-infrared wavelength regions. The room temperature PL revealed a strong band-edge emission with a weak deep level emission, suggesting the good crystalline quality of the ZnO films on the sapphire substrates. Furthermore, the intensity ratio of the band-edge emission to the deep-level emission (I_UV/I_Vis) increased with increasing VI/II ratio.