Sublattice-specific ordering of ZnO layers during the heteroepitaxial growth at different temperatures

The effect of the substrate temperature on the sublattice ordering in ZnO layers grown by reactive pulsed magnetron sputtering on sapphire has been investigated by different techniques. The improvement of the crystal quality and heteroepitaxial growth at relatively low temperatures (550 °C) is verified by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in channeling mode (RBS/C), and Raman spectroscopy. Sublattice-resolved analysis by resonant RBS/C and Raman spectroscopy reveals that the progressive transition to the single crystal phase is accomplished in a faster way for Zn- than for O-sublattice. This behavior is attributed to the preferential annealing of defects in the Zn sublattice at low temperatures when compared to those of the O sublattice.