Growth of epitaxial ZnO films on Si(111)

Epitaxial ZnO films have been grown on Si(l 11) substrates by employing a A1N buffer layer during a pulsed laser-deposition process. The epitaxial structure of A1N on Si(l 11) substrate provides a template for ZnO growth. The resultant films are evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and electrical measurements. The results of x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy on these films clearly show the epitaxial growth of ZnO films with an orientational relationship of ZnO[0001]||Aln[0001]||Si[l 11] along the growth direction and ZnO[2 I I 0]||A1N[2 I I 0]||Si[0 I I] along the in-plane direction. High electrical conductivity (103 S/m at 300 K) and a linear I-V characteristics make these epitaxial films ideal for microelectronic, optoelectronic, and transparent conducting oxide applications.