Facile synthesis and enhanced ultraviolet emission of ZnO nanorods prepared by vapor-confined face-to-face annealing.

In this study, we report a novel regrowth method of sol-gel-prepared ZnO films using a vapor-confined face-to-face annealing (VC-FTFA) technique in which mica was inserted between two films, followed by annealing with the FTFA method. The ZnO nanorods are regrown when zinc acetate dihydrate and zinc chloride (ZnCl2) are used as the solvent, because these generate ZnCl2 vapor. The near-band-edge emission intensity of the ZnO nanorods was enhanced through the VC-FTFA method, increasing significantly by a factor of 56 compared to that of ZnO films annealed in open air at 700 °C. Our method may provide a route toward the facile fabrication of ZnO nanorods.

Effect of Metallic Au Seed Layer Annealing on the Properties of Electrodeposited ZnO Nanorods.

This study focuses on the effect of annealing the Au seed layer (ASL) on the structural and optical properties of electrodeposited ZnO nanorods. ZnO nanorods were fabricated in a three-step approach. In the first step, ASLs were deposited using an ion sputter technique. In the second step, layers were annealed in air at various temperatures ranging from 400 degrees C to 600 degrees C. Finally, ZnO nanorods were grown using an electrodeposition method. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that better aligned ZnO nanorods are fabricated on the annealed ASL compared with non-annealed ASL The X-ray diffraction analysis showed a notable improvement in directional growth along the (002) crystallographic plane when ZnO nanorods were grown on the annealed ASL. The photoluminescence analysis showed that the UV emission peak of ZnO nanorods on the annealed ASL at 400 degrees C was blue-shifted and increased.

Optical parameters of boron-doped ZnO nanorods grown by low-temperature hydrothermal reaction.

Sol-gel spin-coating was used to deposit ZnO seed layers onto quartz substrates, and ZnO nanorods doped with various concentrations of B (i.e., BZO nanorods) ranging from 0 to 2.0 at% were hydrothermally grown on the ZnO seed layers. The effects of B doping on the absorption coefficient, optical band gap, Urbach energy, refractive index, extinction coefficient, single-oscillator energy, dispersion energy, average oscillator strength, average oscillator wavelength, dielectric constant, and optical conductivity of the hydrothermally grown BZO nanorods were investigated. The optical band gaps were 3.255, 3.243, 3.254, 3.258, and 3.228 eV for the nanorods grwon at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 at% B, respectively. B doping increased the Urbach energy from 40.7 to 65.1 meV for the nanorods grown at 0 and 2.0 at% B, respectively, and significantly affected the dispersion energy, the single-oscillator energy, the average oscillator wavelength, the average oscillator strength, the refractive index, and the optical conductivity of the hydrothermally grown BZO nanorods.

Effect of Co doping concentration on structural properties and optical parameters of Co-doped ZnO thin films by sol-gel dip-coating method.

The structural and optical properties of Co-doped ZnO thin films prepared by a sol-gel dip-coating method were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the thin films were grown with a c-axis preferred orientation. The position of the (002) peak was almost the same in all samples, irrespective of the Co concentration. It is thus clear that Co doping had little effect on the position of the (002) peak. To confirm that Co2+ was substituted for Zn2+ in the wurtzite structure, optical measurements were conducted at room temperature by a UV-visible spectrometer. Three absorption peaks are apparent in the Co-doped ZnO thin films that do not appear for the undoped ZnO thin film. As the Co concentration was increased, absorption related to characteristic Co2+ transitions increased because three absorption band intensities and the area underneath the absorption wells between 500 and 700 nm increased with increasing Co concentration. The optical band gap and static dielectric constant decreased and the Urbach energy and extinction coefficient increased with increasing Co concentration.

Optical parameters of Al-doped ZnO nanorod array thin films grown via the hydrothermal method.

ZnO seed layers were deposited onto a quartz substrate using the sol--gel method, and Al-doped ZnO (AZO) nanorod array thin films with different Al concentrations that ranged from 0 to 2.0 at. % were grown on the ZnO seed layers via the hydrothermal method. Optical parameters, including the optical band gap, the absorption coefficient, the Urbach energy, the refractive index, the dispersion parameter, and the optical conductivity, were studied to investigate the effects of Al doping on the optical properties of AZO nanorod array thin films. The optical band gaps of the ZnO and AZO nanorod array thin films were 3.206 at 0 at.%, 3.214 at 0.5 at.%, 3.226 at 1.5 at.%, and 3.268 at 2.0 at.%. The Urbach energy gradually decreased from 126 meV (0 at.%) to 70 meV (2.0 at.%) as the Al concentration was increased. The dispersion energy, the single-oscillator energy, the average oscillator wavelength, the average oscillator strength, the refractive index, and the optical conductivity of the AZO nanorod array thin films were all affected by Al doping.

Photoluminescence properties of defect emissions in Al-doped ZnO nanorod array thin films.

The power- and temperature-dependent photoluminescence properties of Al-doped ZnO nanorod array thin films grown by the hydrothermal method were investigated. The intensities of both the near-band-edge emission (NBE) and deep-level emission (DLE) as well as the overall spectral line shape were strongly affected by the excitation power. At low excitation power, the blue emission was found to show the highest intensity among the different emission lights. A low-temperature photoluminescence analysis revealed the bound-exciton-related luminescence peak at 3.362 eV. The dependence of peak energy with the excitation power indicates that these DLE processes are generated by DAP transitions. The overall intensity of DLE was found to decrease as the temperature increases. With regard to the blue emission (around 2.52 eV), it showed a well-pronounced shoulder at 200 K. The activation energy for this blue emission was 51.93 meV, which corresponds to the thermal dissociation energy required for the donor-acceptor pair transitions.

Photoluminescence studies of ZnO nanorods grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy.

Metal catalyst-free ZnO nanorods were grown on PS with buffer layers grown at 450 degrees C by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Room temperature and temperature-dependent photoluminescence were carried out to investigate the optical properties of the ZnO nanorods with the average diameter of 120 nm and length of 300 nm. Three emission peaks, free excition, neutral-donor exciton, and free electron-to-neutral acceptor, were observed at 10 K. Huang-Rhys factor S of the ZnO nanorods was 0.978, which is much higher than that of ZnO thin films. The values of Varshni's empirical equation fitting parameters were alpha = 4 x 10(-3) eV/K, beta = 4.1 x 10(4) K, and E9(0) = 3.388 eV and the activation energy was about 96 meV.

Magnesium content ratio effects of MgxZn1-xO seed layers on structural and optical properties of ZnO nanorods.

ZnO nanorods were grown on MgxZn1-xO seed layers with different content ratio ranging from 0 to 0.3 by hydrothermal method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and photoluminescence (PL) were carried out to investigate the effects of Mg content ratio for the MgxZn1-xO seed layers on the structural and optical properties of the ZnO nanorods. The surface morphology and structural properties of the MgxZn1-xO seed layers were changed by the Mg incorporation. However, the appearance, such as density, diameter, and shape, of the ZnO nanorods grown on the MgxZn1-xO seed layers was not changed significantly. The highest intensity ratio of the near-band-edge emission (NBE) to deep-level emission (DLE) and the narrowest full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the NBE peaks, indicating improvement in the crystallinity and luminescent properties of the ZnO crystals, were observed in the ZnO nanorods grown on the MgxZn1_xO seed layers with the content ratio of the 0.05.