We have investigated the evolution of the structure and surface morphology of n-ZnO/p-ZnO homojunctions and n-ZnO/p-NiO heterojunctions transparent structures deposited by radio frequency-sputtering on quartz (Q)/ITO substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the as-deposited and annealed ZnO, n-ZnO/p-NiO/Q/ITO, and n-ZnO/p-ZnO/Q/ITO thin films showed that ZnO had a wurtzite hexagonal structure and (002) preferred growth direction. The annealing temperature played a key role in improving the crystalline structure of the films, as evidenced by the changes in the intensity and position of the XRD (002) peak. Morphological analysis revealed that the roughness of the film varies with increasing annealing temperature. Particle size dictates the vertical growth of p-ZnO homojunctions, while particle shape dictated the p-NiO heterojunctions growth. Fractal analysis showed that p-ZnO homojunctions have similar spatial complexity, surface percolation, and topographical uniformity and are dominated by low dominant frequencies. Moreover, a robust multifractal character was observed, where n-ZnO/p-ZnO homojunctions follow similar vertical growth dynamics, which differed from the n-ZnO/p-NiO heterojunctions growth dynamics. These results prove that annealing temperature plays a key role in the n-ZnO/p-ZnO homojunctions and n-ZnO/p-NiO heterojunctions structure, surface morphology, and vertical growth dynamics.
Keywords: ZnO thin films; atomic force microscopy; heterojunction; homojunction; morphological analysis; multifractal analysis.
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