Effect of annealing temperature on K-shell X-ray fluorescence parameters of zinc oxide thin films prepared by the sol-gel method

Zinc oxide thin films were grown on a glass substrate by a sol-gel process using a spin-coating technique. The obtained thin films were annealed between 350 degrees C and 550 degrees C in 50 degrees C steps and were then characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence techniques. The samples were stimulated by 59.5keV gamma rays emitted from an Americium-241 annular radioisotope source. K X-rays emitted by samples were counted using an ultra-low energy germanium detector with a resolution of 150eV at 5.96keV. It was found that there was generally a decrease in both the K/K X-ray intensity ratios and the K X-ray fluorescence cross sections for zinc oxide between 350 degrees C and 500 degrees C, but not at 550 degrees C. In addition, the X-ray diffraction patterns of the films showed that the transition phase from an amorphous to a polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure was complete at an annealing temperature of 500 degrees C. The results show that variations in these parameters can be explained by the reorganization of atoms and the charge transfer process due to the effect of the annealing temperature on the elements forming the compounds.