Metal oxide double layer capacitors by electrophoretic deposition of metal oxides. Fabrication, electrical characterization and defect analysis using positron annihilation spectroscopy

Films consisting of nanocrystalline ZnO were deposited on ITO/glass electrodes using an electrophoretic process. The microwave-assisted thermolysis of zinc alkyl-acetoacetates resulted in the formation of stable dispersions for the electrophoretic deposition procedure. Uniform and smooth coatings could be achieved by starting the electrophoresis at lower voltages first and increasing to higher voltages at later stages of the deposition. The ZnO/ITO double layers were integrated in metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitors by completing the set-up with a spin-coated PMMA dielectric layer and gold contacts. The MOS capacitors showed IV curves with a region of negative differential resistance, indicating charge trapping, both in the ZnO grains and at the ZnO/PMMA interface. Doppler broadening positron annihilation (DB-PAS) and positron annihilation life time spectroscopy (PALS) were employed to characterize the point defects and void space within the deposited ZnO layer which allowed to give insight into the bulk composition of the film composition. PALS revealed the presence of micropores in the range of 0.5 to 1.5 nm.