We present a review of current research on the optical properties of ZnO nanostructures. We provide a brief introduction to different fabrication methods for various ZnO nanostructures and some general guidelines on how fabrication parameters (temperature, vapor-phase versus solution-phase deposition, etc.) affect their properties. A detailed discussion of photoluminescence, both in the UV region and in the visible spectral range, is provided. In addition, different gain (excitonic versus electron hole plasma) and feedback (random lasing versus individual nanostructures functioning as Fabry-Perot resonators) mechanisms for achieving stimulated emission are described. The factors affecting the achievement of stimulated emission are discussed, and the results of time-resolved studies of stimulated emission are summarized. Then, results of nonlinear optical studies, such as second-harmonic generation, are presented. Optical properties of doped ZnO nanostructures are also discussed, along with a concluding outlook for research into the optical properties of ZnO.

Optical properties of ZnO nanostructures.

Transparent conductors as solar energy materials: A panoramic review

Premises of creation of Internet portal designed to provide access to participants of educational and scientific process for the joint creation, consolidation, concentration and rapid spreading of educational and scientific information resources in its own depository are considered. CMS-based portal content management systems’ potentiality is investigated. Architecture for Internet portal of MES of Ukraine’s information resources is offered.

Створення порталу інформаційно-довідкових ресурсів міністерства освіти і науки україни

This paper presents a review of current research activities on ZnO nanorods (or nanowires). We begin this paper with a variety of physical and chemical methods that have been used to synthesize ZnO nanorods (or nanowires). There follows a discussion of techniques for fabricating aligned arrays, heterostructures and doping of ZnO nanorods. At the end of this paper, we discuss a wide range of interesting properties such as luminescence, field emission, gas sensing and electron transport, associated with ZnO nanorods, as well as various intriguing applications. We conclude with personal remarks on the outlook for research on ZnO nanorods.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0268-1242/20/4/003/pdf

ZnO nanorods: synthesis, characterization and applications

Strain sensors based on individual ZnO piezoelectric fine-wires (PFWs; nanowires, microwires) have been fabricated by a simple, reliable, and cost-effective technique. The electromechanical sensor device consists of a single electrically connected PFW that is placed on the outer surface of a flexible polystyrene (PS) substrate and bonded at its two ends. The entire device is fully packaged by a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin layer. The PFW has Schottky contacts at its two ends but with distinctly different barrier heights. The I-V characteristic is highly sensitive to strain mainly due to the change in Schottky barrier height (SBH), which scales linear with strain. The change in SBH is suggested owing to the strain induced band structure change and piezoelectric effect. The experimental data can be well-described by the thermionic emission-diffusion model. A gauge factor of as high as 1250 has been demonstrated, which is 25% higher than the best gauge factor demonstrated for carbon nanotubes. The strain sensor developed here has applications in strain and stress measurements in cell biology, biomedical sciences, MEMS devices, structure monitoring, and more.

http://www.nanoscience.gatech.edu/zlwang/paper/2008new/08_2367t.pdf

Flexible piezotronic strain sensor

F-doped and undoped ZnO nanocrystalline films were prepared from thermal oxidation of ZnF2 films deposited on a silica substrate by electron beam evaporation. The F-doped ZnO film has very low electrical resistivity of 7.95×10−4Ωcm and a high optical transmittance. The study also indicated that (1) the substitutional F atoms in the film serve as donors to increase the carrier concentration and the optical band gap with respect to undoped ZnO film, and (2) F passivation reduces the known number of Os2−/Os− surface states and increases carrier mobility.

F-doping effects on electrical and optical properties of ZnO nanocrystalline films

Biaxial stress of ZnO film deposited on quartz was measured by side-inclination x-ray diffraction technique, indicating that the film is subjected to a tensile stress. One part of the stress is induced by thermal mismatch between the ZnO and the quartz and increases with annealing temperature, while another part results from lattice mismatch and is about 1.03GPa. The optical band gap of the ZnO film shows a blueshift with increasing biaxial tensile stress, opposed to the change of the band gap with biaxial tensile stress for GaN. The mechanism of the stress-dependent band gap is suggested in the present work.

Characterization of biaxial stress and its effect on optical properties of ZnO thin films

High quality ZnO thin films have been grown on a Si(100) substrate by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a zinc organic source [Zn(C2H5)2] and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas mixtures at the low temperature of 180 °C. The dependence of ZnO thin film quality on the gas flow rate ratio of Zn(C2H5)2 to CO2 (GFRRZC) is studied by using x-ray diffraction (XRD), optical absorption (OA) spectra, and cathodoluminescence (CL) spectra. High quality ZnO thin films with a c-axis-oriented wurtzite structure are obtained when the GFRRZC is 0.33. XRD shows that the full width at half maximum of (0002) ZnO located at 34.42° is about 0.2°. At room temperature, a pronounced free exciton absorption peak around 365 nm is clearly observed. Also, a strong free exciton emission without deep level defect emission is observed around 385 nm, and its temperature dependence is studied from the photoluminescence spectra. These observations indicate the formation of a high quality ZnO film. Additionally, nitridation of the Si su...

High quality ZnO thin films grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

In this article, we observe the optically pumped lasing from the high-quality nanocrystalline ZnO thin films obtained by thermal oxidation of ZnS thin films, which were grown on SiO2 substrates by low-pressure-metalorganic chemical vapor deposition technique. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicate that high-quality ZnS films possess a preferred (111) orientation. ZnS has a transformation to ZnO at an annealing temperature (Ta) of 500 °C, and fully transforms into ZnO at Ta⩾700 °C from the XRD patterns. The obtained ZnO films possess a polycrystalline hexagonal wurtzite structure. The fifth-order Raman scattering is observed in the films, which indicates that a large deformation energy exists in the lattice. In photoluminescence (PL), spectra, for all the samples with different annealing temperatures, the near-band-edge (NBE) PL peak has a pronounced blueshift with increasing annealing temperature, while the full width at half maximum (FWHM) decreases gradually. We think that emissions of the bound excitons play an important role in NBE PL. A strong PL with a FWHM of 62 meV at 3.30 eV from NBE has been obtained at room temperature for the samples annealed at 900 °C. The PL intensity ratio of the ultraviolet emission to the deep-level emission is as high as 98 at room temperature, indicating the high-quality of the nanocrystalline ZnO films.

Structure and optically pumped lasing from nanocrystalline ZnO thin films prepared by thermal oxidation of ZnS thin films

The surface viscosity and self-diffusion of a Pd-based metallic glass were measured using annealing-induced decay of its surface submicron gratings. Strong surface dynamics and surface diffusion with the value of more than 105 times faster than bulk diffusion are found at temperatures below glass transition. The high surface dynamic induces a fast crystallization below glass transition temperature at the free surface which is more than 100 times faster than that in bulk.

Yegang Lu

Papers

F-doping effects on electrical and optical properties of ZnO nanocrystalline films

Characterization of biaxial stress and its effect on optical properties of ZnO thin films

High quality ZnO thin films grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Structure and optically pumped lasing from nanocrystalline ZnO thin films prepared by thermal oxidation of ZnS thin films

High surface mobility and fast surface enhanced crystallization of metallic glass