Irradiation-Induced Electronic Structure Modifications in ZnO Thin Films Studied by X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

We report the modifications in the electronic structureof ZnO thin films induced by swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiated ZnO thin films by using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy at O K-edge was performed at BL10D XAS-KIST beamline at Pohang Accelerator Lab (PAL). ZnO films of 250 nm thickness oriented in [200] plane deposited by RF magnetron sputtering using equal $Ar:O_2$ atmosphere and air annealed at $500^{\circ}C$ for 6 hours for stability were irradiated with 120 MeV Au and 100 MeV O beams separately with different doses ranging from $1{\times}10^{11}$ to $5{\times}10^{12}$ ions/$cm^2$. High Resolution X-ray diffraction and NEXAFS analysis indicates significant changes in the electronic structure and the SHI effect is different for Ag and O-beams. The NEXAFS measurements provide direct evidence of O 2p and Zn 3d orbital hybridization. The NEXAFS results will be presented in detail.