Journal of Theoretical and Applied Physics (JTAP) Structural, electrical, and decorative properties of sputtered zirconium thin films during post-annealing process Volume 7 (2013) Issue 1, November and December 2013 2023 11 17 Structural, electrical, and decorative properties of sputtered zirconium thin films during post-annealing process 10.1186/2251-7235-7-55 EN Kaykhosrow Khojier Department of Physics, Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University Hadi Savaloni School of Physics, College of Science, University of Tehran, North‑Kargar Street, Tehran, Iran 0000-0002-6836-106X Fatemeh Jafari Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University Journal Article 2023 11 17 AbstractZirconium thin films were deposited on a glass substrate using direct current magnetron sputtering technique and then post-annealed at different temperatures (100°C to 500°C in steps of 100°C) in an oxygen constant flow. The dependence of crystallographic structure, surface morphology, chemical composition, and electrical and decorative properties of the films on the annealing temperature was investigated. X-ray diffraction showed different phases of zirconium oxide at different annealing temperatures. It is observed that crystallite size and nanostrain increase with annealing temperature. Atomic force microscopy results showed granular structure in all samples, while both grain size and film surface roughness increased with the annealing temperature. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis data showed that the ratio of O/Zr was approximately 1.6, 1.7, 1.9, 2.1, and 2.2 at annealing temperatures of 100°C, 200°C, 300°C, 400°C, and 500°C, respectively. The annealed films at higher temperatures (400°C and 500°C) were transparent, while annealed films at lower temperatures (100°C to 300°C) were grey and brown, respectively. The variation of electrical resistance of samples with applied voltage was approximately constant, while it increased with annealing temperature.