Simultaneous determination of the optical properties and of the structure of r.f.-sputtered ZnO thin films

Thin films of zinc oxide were deposited on glass by r.f. sputtering and stu died by means of spectrophotometry and spectroscopic ellipsometry. We first reviewed the methods used to determine simultaneously the microstructure a nd optical indices of thin films. These methods have then been used to anal yze the experimental measurements. They clearly showed that the microstruct ure of thin films could only be determined by using spectroscopic ellipsome try measurements. From these measurements, the optical indices of the zinc oxide films in the wavelength range 310-750 nm were then computed. These co rrelate closely with previously published results. (C) 1999 Elsevier Scienc e S.A. All rights reserved.