Abstract: ZnO thin films were grown on glass substrates by a relatively new and simple chemical deposition method,
successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR), with the precursor of zinc-ammonia complex ([Zn(NH₃)₄]²⁺. XRD and SEM were applied
to analyze the crystalline structure and the morphology. The effects of annealing process in air on the crystalline structure and the morphology
of ZnO films were discussed. Further, the growing mechanism of ZnO films by SILAR technique was probed. Results show that, the obtained ZnO films
after 200 deposition cycles are the zincite structure with the orientation of <002>. The as-deposited films are dense, smooth and uniform, with
the film thickness of 800nm. The annealing process in air results in the decrease in oxygen vacancy of ZnO films and the increase in the degree of
orientation along c-axis. The amount of interstitial zinc also increases with the augment of the annealing temperature. The re-crystallization
resulted from the air annealing at 500℃ affects the micro structure and morphology of ZnO films significantly. The decrease in the ratio of
NH₃·H₂O to Zn²⁺ in precursor will improve the growth rate of ZnO films.

Key words: ZnO, thin films, successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction process （SILAR）