Effect of stress on optical band gap of ZnO thin films with substrate temperature by spray pyrolysis

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have been deposited with various substrate temperatures by spray pyrolysis method onto glass substrates. The effects of substrate temperature on the crystallization behavior and optical properties of the films have been studied. The evolution of strain and stress effects in ZnO thin films on glass substrate has been studied using X-ray diffraction. The films deposited at low substrate temperature have large compressive stress of 1.77 GPa, which relaxed to 1.47 GPa as the substrate temperature increased to 450 °C. Optical parameters such as optical transmittance, reflectance, dielectric constant, refractive index and energy band gap have been studied and discussed with respect to substrate temperature. All films exhibit a transmittance of about 85% in the visible region. It was found that the compressive stress in the films causes a decrease in the optical band gap.