Materials Chemistry and Physics 84 (2004) 14–19 Epitaxial lattice matching between epi-n-IZO thin films and 〈100〉 Si, GaAs and InP wafers with out any buffer layers by L-MBE technique: a novel development for III–V opto-electronic devices K. Ramamoorthy a , C. Sanjeeviraja a,∗ , M. Jayachandran b , K. Sankaranarayanan c , Pankaj Misra d , L.M. Kukreja d a Department of Physics, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 630003, India b ECMS Division, Central Electro Chemical Research Institute, Karaikudi 630006, India c Crystal Research Centre, Alagappa University, Karaikudi 630003, India d Thin Film Laboratory, Department of Atomic Energy, Centre for Advanced Technology, Government of India, Indore 452013, India Received 23 April 2003; received in revised form 21 August 2003; accepted 3 September 2003 Abstract We have optimised and deposited epitaxial indium zinc oxide (epi-IZO) (In 2 Zn 2 O 5 ) thin films on 〈100〉 oriented Si, GaAs and InP by laser-molecular beam epitaxy (L-MBE) technique, i.e., pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Optimised growth conditions have been obtained for the deposition of high quality epi-IZO thin films. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the PLD deposited indium zinc oxide thin films on semiconductor wafers have been applied to semiconductor–insulator–semiconductor (SIS) iso- and hetero-type junction solar cell structures as wide band gap transparent conducting front electrode-window layers. We have carried out X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive chemical analysis (EDAX) to determine the Structural and compositional properties of as-grown thin films. The crystalline quality of the obtained thin films is similar to that of the bulk single crystals. Increasing the deposition temperature leads the thin films to fine nano-structure nature. In the present work, the effects of various substrate temperatures, substrates and heavy indium oxide doping on indium zinc oxide thin film growth, structural and compositional properties were analysed. As well as our main aim, the feasibility of developing high quality transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films for opto-electronic devices was also studied simultaneously. Our novel achievement in this work is without any buffer layers, we have obtained good epitaxial lattice matching between the highly oriented IZO functional layers and the substrate materials suitable for III–V based high-speed opto-electronic and micro-electronic devices. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 68.55; 81.15.G; 73.60.F; 72.20; 72.80.E Keywords: Laser epitaxy; Semiconducting materials; Thin film structure and morphology; Buffer layer on InP; Solar cells 1. Introduction The transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials must be developed with lower resistivities than previously achieved and with optical properties superior to those of the present generation of TCOs [1–15]. Improving the mobility of the charge carriers leads to superior performance of both optical and transport phenomena. The TCO thin films were prepared by so many techniques such as spray pyrolysis, metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), jet vapour deposition (JVD), atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) and ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-4565-225205; fax: +91-4565-225202. E-mail address: sanjeeviraja@rediffmail.com (C. Sanjeeviraja). molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Among this laser-MBE technique, i.e., pulsed laser deposition (PLD) produces a pure thin film with high conductivity and good step cov- erage. PLD now emerged as a new technique for thin film growth technology. The sophisticated technology and design of L-MBE system for the growth of high quality epitaxial layers are becoming increasingly important for the devel- opment of the electronic industries [6,7]. Due to adopting some unique properties, TCO thin films are used in so many commercial applications such as in solar cells, flat panel displays, Polymeric light emitting diodes, micro-electronics and micro-machining technologies. Generally, the detailed and systematic study of correla- tion between the film structural properties and the device qualities is believed to gives a better understanding of the 0254-0584/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2003.09.001