Electrical, optical and structural properties of ZnO nanorods thin films deposited over ZnO substrates

ZnO thin films with grain morphology were obtained over glass substrates using the sol–gel method; these films were used as substrates to grow ZnO nanorods using chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. The transmittance percentage of two films was over 85% and the electrical resistivity decreased when ZnO nanorods were grown over the ZnO thin film with grain morphology. A laser is incident at the thin film surface to measure the electrical response as a function of the wavelength change, it is found that electrical response is higher for the thin films with ZnO nanorods; these results shows that ZnO nanorods are a good choice for their use in photosensors. •We prepared ZnO thin films using the sol–gel method and this films are used like a substrates for growth ZnO nanorods.•The morphology of the ZnO thin films substrates is granular.•When nanorods were grown over ZnO thin films the crystallinity increased and the c-axis orientation was stronger.•The electrical response to the wavelength change of ZnO thin film with nanorods (10−5A) was bigger than the ZnO thin films with grain form (10−7A).