Electrical conductivity and optical properties of ZnO nanostructured thin film

Ultraviolet photodetectors (PDs) have been fabricated from p-ZnO:(Li,N)/n-ZnO structures in this Letter. The PDs can operate without any external power supply and show response only to a very narrow spectrum range. The self-power character of the devices is due to the built-in electric field in the p-n junctions that can separate the photogenerated electrons and holes while the high spectrum-selectivity has been attributed to the filter effect of the neutral region in the ZnO:(Li,N) layer. The performance of the self-powered highly spectrum-selective PDs degrades little after five months, indicating their good reliability.

Reliable self-powered highly spectrum-selective ZnO ultraviolet photodetectors

Co-doping: an effective strategy for achieving stable p-type ZnO thin films

Large quantities of single-crystalline ZnO nanorods and nanotubes have been prepared by the microwave, irradiation of a metalorganic complex of zinc, in the presence of a surfactant. The method is simple, fast, and inexpensive (as it uses a domestic microwave oven), and yields pure nanostructures of the hexagonal wurtzite phase of ZnO in min, and requires no conventional templating. The ZnO nanotubes formed have a hollow core with inner diameter varying from 140-160 nm and a wall of thickness, 40-50 nm. The length of nanorods and nanotubes varies in the narrow range of 500-600 nm. These nanostructures have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The ZnO nanorods and nanotubes are found by SAED to be single-crystalline. The growth process of ZnO nanorods and nanotubes has been investigated by varying the surfactant concentration and microwave irradiation time. Based on the various results obtained, a tentative and plausible mechanism for the formation of ZnO nanostructures is proposed.

http://repository.ias.ac.in/43746/1/1_PUB.pdf

Rapid growth of nanotubes and nanorods of würtzite ZnO through microwave-irradiation of a metalorganic complex of zinc and a surfactant in solution

Investigation of the annealing effects on the structural and optical properties of sputtered ZnO thin films

Growth and properties of ZnO nanotubes grown on Si(1 1 1) substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

By employing lithium and nitrogen codoping method, p-type zinc oxide (ZnO) films have been prepared, and the p-type conduction can maintain for 207 days. ZnO p-n junctions have been constructed based on the p-type ZnO. Under the drive of continuous current, obvious emission has been observed from the p-n junctions, and the ZnO p-n junction light-emitting devices (LEDs) can still work after placing in air ambient for 180 days. Room temperature electroluminescence spectra of the p-ZnO:(Li, N)/n-ZnO structured LEDs under continuous current recorded intermittently for 180 days. (C) 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Stable p-type ZnO films obtained by lithium-nitrogen codoping method

II-oxides wide-bandgap semiconductor, including the beryllium oxide (BeO), magnesium oxide (MgO), zinc oxide (ZnO), have large exciton binding energy (ZnO 60 meV, MgO 80 meV), high optical gain (ZnO 300 cm–1) and wide tunable band gap (3.37 eV ZnO, MgO 7.8 eV, BeO 10.6 eV), which are the advantages of achieving low-threshold laser devices in the ultraviolet wavelength. It is also one of the important candidates to replace the traditional gas arc lamp (such as mercury lamp, deuterium lamp, excimer lamp, xenon lamp etc.) as the source of deep ultraviolet and even vacuum ultraviolet. Although, during the past decades, the ZnO-based pn homojunction devices have made great progress in the near-UV electroluminescence, but as the band gap broadens, the acceptor (or donor) ionization energy becomes higher (On the order of hundreds meV), which causing the room temperature equivalent thermal energy (26 meV) cannot make the impurities ionizing effectively. In addition, the self-compensation effect in the doping process further weakens the carrier yield. These above drawbacks have become the bottleneck that hinders II-oxides wide-bandgap semiconductor from achieving ultraviolet laser devices and expanding to shorter wavelengths, and are also a common problem faced by other wide-bandgap semiconductor materials. The regulation of the electrical and luminescent properties of materials often depends on the control of critical defect states. The rich point defects and their combination types make the II-oxides wide-bandgap semiconductors an important platform for studying defect physics. For the identification and characterization of specific point defects, it is expected to discover and further construct shallower defect states, which will provide a basis for the regulation of electrical performance. In this paper, recent research results of II-oxides wide-bandgap semiconductors will be described from three aspects: high-quality epitaxial growth, impurity and point defects, p-type doping and ultraviolet electroluminescence. Through the overview of related research works, II-oxides wide-bandgap semiconductors are clarified as deep ultraviolet light sources materials. Meanwhile, indicates that the key to the regulation of electrical performance in the future lies in the regulation of point defects.

Point defects: key issues for II-oxides wide-bandgap semiconductors development

We investigate the origin of ultraviolet (UV) emission from Mg0.12Zn0.88O alloy thin films with a wurtzite structure fabricated on c-plane Al2O3 substrates by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. At room temperature, the absorption edge and UV emission band of the Mg0.12Zn0.88O film shift to high-energy side compared with ZnO films. Temperature dependence of the photoluminescence spectra shows that the UV emission is composed of free exciton and neutral donor bound exciton emissions. Two-step dissociation processes of the UV emission are observed with the increasing temperature. The thermal quenching mechanism is attributed to the dissociation of the free exciton from the neutral donor bound exciton in the low temperature region and the dissociation of free electron and hole from the free exciton in the high temperature region.

Ultraviolet Luminescence in Mg0.12Zn0.88O Alloy Films

We study the optical properties of ZnCdSe/ZnMgSe multiple quantum wells using photoluminescence (PL) and Raman scattering spectra. In the PL spectra, an intense emission band coming from the free exciton luminescence of the quantum wells can be observed from 80 K to 300 K. The exciton binding energy is evaluated by the dependence of PL intensity on the temperature, showing the behaviour of the better two-dimensional excitons. The result indicates that the enhancement of the confinement effect is due to containing Mg in the barrier layers. At room temperature, Raman scattering spectra are classified into confined optical modes and folded optical modes. This confirms the formation of a multilayer system with a higher crystalline quality.

Li Bing-Hui

Papers

Growth and properties of ZnO nanotubes grown on Si(1 1 1) substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Stable p-type ZnO films obtained by lithium-nitrogen codoping method

Point defects: key issues for II-oxides wide-bandgap semiconductors development

Ultraviolet Luminescence in Mg0.12Zn0.88O Alloy Films

Optical properties of ZnCdSe/ZnMgSe multiple quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy