Monte Carlo Simulation of Grain Growth Behavior in ZnO Thin Film during Crystallization Process

Abstract

In this work, a theoretical model for the prediction of the grain growth behavior in zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film during the crystallization step has been developed. The model based on the Population Balance Equations (PBE) that includes nucleation and grain growth has been used in case of 150 nm thick ZnO layer elaborated by sol gel method on silicon substrate. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation has been used for resolving the population balance to predict annealing temperature effect on grain growth behavior. The results showed that the distribution of thin film grain sizes follows a Gaussian law with temperature, which predicts an increase of the grain size from 20 to 24 nm with increasing annealing temperature from 350°C to 500°C. The growth of larger grain with the preferential orientation and crystallinity percentage equal to 46. 59% has been obtained at annealing temperature of 500°C. Numerical results have been correlated to the structural and morphological analysis carried out by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively.