Investigation of the Microstructure, Optical, Electrical and Nanomechanical Properties of ZnOx Thin Films Deposited by Magnetron Sputtering.

The paper presents the results of an investigation of the influence of technological parameters on the microstructure, optical, electrical and nanomechanical properties of zinc oxide coatings prepared using the pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering method. Three sets of ZnOx thin films were deposited in metallic, shallow dielectric and deep dielectric sputtering modes. Structural investigations showed that thin films deposited in the metallic mode were nanocrystalline with mixed hexagonal phases of metallic zinc and zinc oxide with crystallite size of 9.