Structural and optical characterization of ZrO2 thin films grown on silicon and quartz substrates

Zirconium oxide thin films were grown successfully by thermal annealing of zirconium thin films deposited on quartz and silicon substrates by direct current magnetron sputtering technique. The structural and optical properties in relation to thermal annealing times were investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that structure of films changes from amorphous to crystalline by increase of annealing times in range 60-240 min. The composition of films was determined by Rutherford back scattering spectroscopy. Atomic force microscopy results exhibited that surface morphology and roughness of films depend on the annealing time. The refractive index of the films was calculated using Swanepoel's method. The optical band gap energy of annealed films decreased from 5.50 to 5.34 eV with increasing thermal annealing time.