Abstract

In this work, ZnO films were deposited by Direct Current (DC) magnetron sputtering, on polished silicon substrate Si(100) (non-etched), etched for 1 min, 5 min, 10 min and 15 min. The etching of the substrate was carried out by means of dry plasma at different time and they compared with non-etched substrates. Etched silicon substrate effect on the structural and morphological properties of ZnO films was examined, and a new nanostructure can be obtained by the modification in morphology of ZnO film, and this will obviously useful for the electrical and gas sensitivity applications. AFM have been used to investigate the morphology and the roughness behaviors of ZnO films growth on etched and non-etched silicon substrates. SEM images for the Si(100) etched and non-etched effectuated with two modes (surface top view and cross section), the SEM was used too for ZnO film deposited on etched substrate (the etched time increase from 1 to 15 min) and non-etched Si substrates. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques were employed to investigate the elements
contents of the ZnO films and the crystallographic properties, respectively. In addition, the variation of water contact angle data (WCA) related to roughness of the ZnO films deposited on etched Si substrate at different times were studied.