Growth Dynamics and Size Distribution of Self-Assembled ZnO Nanocrystals on a Metal Pt(111) Substrate

We grew self-assembled ZnO nanocrystals on metal Pt(111) substrates by using two RF sputtering methods, a one-sided magnetron sputtering system (OMS) and a faced magnetron sputtering system (FMS), in order to study the growth dynamics. The growth rate of the FMS was much higher than that of the OMS due to the additional magnetic field. As the deposition time increased, the density and size of the Volmer-Weber type self-assembled ZnO nanocrystals also increased; in addition, the Ostwald ripening effect was observed between the nearest neighbors in both the OMS and the FMS. We fitted the size distribution of ZnO nanocrystals to Lifshitz-Slyozov and Gaussian functions. Before the ZnO nanocrystals were in a coalescence process with neighboring crystallites, the size distribution was well-explained by the Gaussian function. KCI Citation Count: 3