Atomic Oxygen Sensors Based on Nanograin ZnO Films Prepared by Pulse Laser Deposition

High-quality nanograin ZnO thin films were deposited on c-plane sapphire (Al2O3) substrates by pulse laser deposition (PLD). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize the samples. The structural and morphological properties of ZnO films under different deposition temperature have been investigated before and after atomic oxygen (AO) treatment. XRD has shown that the intensity of the (0 0 2) peak increases and its FWHM value decreases after AO treatment. The AO sensing characteristics of nano ZnO film also has been investigated in a ground-based atomic oxygen simulation facility. The results show that the electrical conductivity of nanograin ZnO films decreases with increasing AO fluence and that the conductivity of the films can be recovered by heating.