Effect of r.f. sputtering parameters on ZnO films deposited onto GaAs substrates

In order to compensate the piezoelectrical property of GaAs-based material for monolithic integrated acousto-optic circuit applications, a ZnO film with a highly preferred orientation should be deposited. R.f. sputtering was employed to deposit ZnO films with various technological parameters. The optimal conditions to deposit high quality ZnO film onto GaAs-based substrates were deduced and investigated. Low loss surface acoustic wave devices fabricated on ZnO/GaAs wafers were obtained. The total insertion loss measured at a centre frequency of 25.37 MHz was 20 dB.