Growth optimization and structural analysis for ferromagnetic Mn-doped ZnO layers deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

The effect of the deposition temperature on the crystalline quality of (Zn,Mn)O is investigated in thin films prepared by radio frequency magnetronsputtering on c-plane sapphire and GaN substrates. The layers are made of a 0.5μm Mn-doped layer towards the surface on top of a 150nm pure ZnO buffer. Depending on the deposition temperature, the layers can exhibit a columnar structure; the adjacent domains are rotated from one another by 90°, putting [101¯0]and [11¯20] directions face to face. At high Mn concentration the columnar structure is blurred by the formation of Mn rich precipitates. Only one variety of domains is observed at an optimal deposition temperature of 500°C: they are slightly rotated around the [0001] axis (mosaic growth) and bounded by threading dislocations