INVESTIGATION OF SOL-GEL GROWN ZnO THIN FILM: WAVELET ANALYSIS AND SIMULATED ANNEALING OPTIMIZED X-RAY REFLECTIVITY

Abstract

In this study ZnO thin film was fabricated by sol-gel spin coating method on glass substrate. X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and its optimization by simulated annealing (SA) technique have been used for characterization and extracting physical parameters of the film. The model independent information was needed to establish data analyzing process for XRR before optimization process. This independent information was extracted from wavelet transform of Fresnel reflectivity normalized XRR. This transformation yields thickness of each coated layer. This information was a keynote for constructing optimization process. Specular XRR optimization yielded structural parameters such as thickness, roughness of surface and interface and electron density profile of the film. Acceptable agreement exists between results obtained from wavelet transformation and XRR fitting.