Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition of Transparent Zinc Gallate Films

Aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) reactions of GaMe3, ZnEt2 and the donor-functionalised alcohol HOCH2CH2OMe (6 equiv.) in toluene resulted in the deposition of amorphous transparent zinc gallate (ZnGa2O4) films at a range of temperatures (350-550 degrees C). The zinc-gallium oxide films were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, glancing-angle X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and optical studies. The optimum growth temperature was found to be 450 degrees C, which produced transparent films with excellent coverage of the substrate. XPS confirmed the presence of zinc, gallium and oxygen in the films. Annealing these films at 1000 degrees C resulted in crystalline films and glancing-angle powder XRD showed that a zinc gallate spinel framework with a lattice parameter of a=8.336(5) angstrom was adopted.