Photoluminescence and Raman scattering of ZnO nanorods

Zinc oxide’s (ZnO) physical and chemical properties make it a viable and extremely attractive compound to use in a variety of nanotechnology applications. Some of these applications include biomedical, energy, sensors, and optics. As the research in ZnO nanostructures continue to grow, it has inspired a whole host of new innovative applications. Complementing its unique chemical qualities, it also has a simple crystal-growth technology and offers significantly lower fabrication costs when compared to other semiconductors used in nanotechnology. Several processes have been developed in order to synthesize high quality ZnO nanostructures—specifically in the case of nanowires. Here we offer a comprehensive review on the growth methods currently employed in research, industry, and academia to understand what protocols are available to meet specific needs in nanotechnology. Methods examined include: the vapor–liquid–solid, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, metal–organic chemical vapor deposition, and the hydrothermal-based chemical approach. Each of these methods is discussed and their strengths and weaknesses are analyzed with objective comparison metrics. In addition, we study the current state-of-the-art applications employing ZnO nanostructures at their core. A historical perspective on the evolution of the field and the accompanying literature are also presented.

Zinc oxide nanostructures: from growth to application

Structural, opto-thermal and electrical properties of ZnO:Mo sprayed thin films

We report a simple method for fabricating heterostructured ZnMgO nanowires by annealing the preformed ZnO∕MgO core-shell structure. Photoluminescence from the alloy nanowires shows strong near-band-edge (NBE) emission, reflecting good material quality. A blueshift of the NBE emission at room temperature after the annealing treatment is attributed to the diffusion of Mg from the shell into the core ZnO of the nanowires to form a ternary ZnMgO alloy. Band gap engineering and stimulated emissions of ZnMgO nanowires with different Mg doping concentrations are also demonstrated.

https://ir.nctu.edu.tw:443/bitstream/11536/12041/1/000238849200052.pdf

Band gap engineering and stimulated emission of ZnMgO nanowires

The growth of ZnO nanorods on Au-coated ITO substrates using a low temperature wet chemical process is presented. Electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction observations reveal that the crystalline ZnO nanorods are preferentially oriented along the c axis. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal a strong band edge emission at 382 nm, a signature of good crystallinity, with a weak and broad orange-red emission, which is typically attributed to the oxygen interstitials, in the range between 520 and 720 nm. Other than the second order feature of the band edge emission at 760 nm, no red or near-infrared bands are observed. The effect of precursor concentration on the morphological, structural and PL properties are studied, and the results are discussed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/18/3/035606/pdf

Low temperature wet chemical synthesis of good optical quality vertically aligned crystalline ZnO nanorods.

ZnO nanowires have been synthesized on porous silicon substrates with different porosities via the vapour–liquid–solid method. The texture coefficient analysed from the XRD spectra indicates that the nanowires are more highly orientated on the appropriate porosity of porous silicon substrate than on the smooth surface of silicon. The Raman spectrum reveals the high quality of the ZnO nanowires. From the temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra, we deduced the activation energies of free and bound excitons.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/16/2/021/pdf

Chen Shiung Chang

Papers

Orientation-enhanced growth and optical properties of ZnO nanowires grown on porous silicon substrates.