Annealing effect of double dip coated ZnAl2O4 thin films

Abstract

Thin films of ZnAl2O4 were prepared by dip technique involving chemical solutions. Investigations on the effect of post heat treatment on the structural, optical properties of ZnAl2O4 thin films were studied and reported. Xray diffraction patterns revealed that the thin films are polycrystalline cubic structure of ZnAl2O4. The microstructural properties of ZnAl2O4 thin films were calculated and crystallite size tends to increase with increase of annealing temperatures. The texture coefficients have been evaluated and found to be greater than unity revealing high texturing of the architecture of the film. The optical band gap values were found to be in the range of 3.48 – 3.62 eV. The n and k were found to decrease with increase of post annealing temperature. The SEM revealed the uniform distribution of spherical grains.