Some aspects of the MOCVD growth of ZnO on sapphire using tert-butanol

The growth of ZnO on (0001) sapphire substrates using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition is reported. Diethylzinc and tertiarybutanol were used, respectively, as zinc and oxygen sources. Growth conditions are detailed such as the substrate temperature and the precursors partial pressures. The influence of the cleanness state of the MOCVD silica reactor is emphasized, since it modifies both layer quality and crystalline orientation, and since it also affects growth process steps like sapphire thermal treatment and buffer layer deposition. ZnO epitaxial layers are characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to assess the surface orientation and morphology, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL). This last technique demonstrates the high optical quality of the ZnO epilayers.