Porous films of metals and metal oxides exhibit larger surface areas and higher reactivities than those of dense films. Therefore, they have gained growing attention as potential materials for use in various applications. This study reports the use of a modified direct current magnetron sputtering method to form porous Zn-ZnO composite films, wherein a subsequent wet post-oxidation process is employed to fabricate pure porous ZnO films. The porous Zn-ZnO composite films were initially formed in clusters, and evaluation of their resulting properties allowed the optimal conditions to be determined. An oxygen ratio of 0.3% in the argon gas flow resulted in the best porosity, while a process pressure of 14 mTorr was optimal. Following deposition, porous ZnO films were obtained through rapid thermal annealing in the presence of water vapor, and the properties and porosities of the obtained films were analyzed. An oxidation temperature of 500 °C was optimal, with an oxidation time of 5 min giving a pure ZnO film with 26% porosity. Due to the fact that the films produced using this method are highly reliable, they could be employed in applications that require large specific surface areas, such as sensors, supercapacitors, and batteries.
Keywords: DC magnetron sputtering; oxidation mechanism; porous film; post-oxidation; zinc oxide.