The Effect of Annealing Temperature on the Surface Roughness and Crystal Structure of ZnO Thin Films Prepared by Electron Beam Evaporation Method on Glass Substrate

The investigation focused on studying the effect of annealing temperature on the surface morphology and crystalline structure of ZnO films. The Electron-beam evaporation method was used to prepare thin films of zinc oxide (ZnO) on glass substrates. The annealing process was conducted at temperatures of 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, and 500°C for the samples. The phase and crystal structure of the samples were determined using an X-ray diffraction (XRD) device. Additionally, the statistical parameters of surface roughness and morphological analysis of the layer's surface were calculated using an Atomic Force Microscope. The obtained results were analyzed using Gwyddion software and MATLAB coding. The x-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the samples exhibit a similar pattern to the reference ZnO, and the crystallite size was found to be larger in the samples annealed at higher temperatures compared to those annealed at lower temperatures. The results obtained from both approaches were in excellent agreement, ensuring consistency in the characterization of surface roughness and indicating the presence of crystalline ZnO within the films. Moreover, higher annealing temperatures were observed to result in increased surface roughness, as confirmed by statistical methods and fractal analysis in the AFM analysis.