Optical performance and UV detection properties of ZnO nanofilms using FDTD simulation

Through the use of Lumerical three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) Electromagnetic Simulator software and the numerous testing parameters, we examined the optical properties, such as the absorbance (%A), transmittance (%T) and the reflectance (%R) of the simulated ZnO nanofilms in relation to the film morphology. This simulation-based experimentation approach enabled effective and efficient testing of a broad range of light wavelengths (λ, 250–650 nm) incident on ZnO thin films with various microstructures, from bulk materials with zero porosity to porous nanostructured films. In this work, the impacts of film thickness (60–320 nm) and particle size (20–40 nm in diameters) on optical properties of the fabricated films were carefully and systematically investigated, to understand the relationship of ZnO nanofilm morphologies and their optical performance. The simulated data was validated using experimental results from a flame-made ultraporous ZnO nanoparticle network (UNN). The finding of this study confirms the capacity of FDTD as a powerful tool to provide insights into the optical phenomenon of nanostructured metal oxide thin films.