Effect of ion beam irradiation on the structure of ZnO films deposited by a dc arc plasmatron

The deposition of polycrystalline ZnO film on a cold substrate was performed by using a plasmatron in rough vacuum condition. Low energy oxygen ion beam generated by a cold cathode ion source was introduced during the deposition process. The change of film property on the ion beam energy was checked. It is shown that irradiation by 200 eV ions improves crystalline structure of the film. Increasing of ion beam energy up to 400 eV leads to the degradation of a crystalline structure and decreases the deposition rate. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.