Improved UV photoresponse properties of high-quality ZnO thin films through the use of a ZnO buffer layer on flexible polyimide substrates

An oxidized ZnO buffer layer was prepared by using thermal oxidation of a Zn buffer layer on a polyimide (PI) substrate; then, ZnO thin films with (sample 1) and without (sample 2) an oxidized ZnO buffer layer were grown by using the sol-gel spin-coating method. The intensities of the ZnO (002) diffraction peaks observed in sample 1 were stronger than those observed in sample 2, implying that the crystal quality was enhanced by the oxidized ZnO buffer layer. Moreover, the residual stress of sample 1 was reduced compared to that of sample 2 due to the decreased number of defects. Sample 2 exhibited defect-related deep-level orange-yellow emissions, which almost disappeared with the introduction of the ZnO buffer layer (sample 1). The values of the responsivity were 0.733 (sample 1) and 0.066 (sample 2) mA/W; therefore, the proposed method could provide a pathway to the easy fabrication of fast-response UV sensors.