Nanometric structures of highly oriented zinc blende ZnO thin films

Abstract Zinc oxide thin films in cubic zinc blende (ZB) crystalline phase on glass substrates by means of the spray pyrolysis technique were deposited. X-ray diffraction spectra revealed that the ZB–ZnO films grow highly oriented along the (004) crystalline direction with no epitaxial influence. Optical absorbance measurements indicated that the forbidden energy band gap is 3.18±0.02 eV in accordance with reports on the experimental value of the band gap of ZB–ZnO structures. Atomic Force Microscopy images exhibit nanometric structures of the surface with the approximated aspect of circular nanodiscs. The thickness of the thin films is 350±20 nm, which suggests a good stability of the films.