Zinc Oxide (ZnO) has been shown to exhibit semiconducting and piezoelectric dual properties. This has led to a large commercial demand on ZnO for optoelectronics that operate at a blue-ultraviolet regions. Because of this, varying techniques have been devised to create different nanostructures of ZnO, which in turn leads to different applications. Here, the single step synthesis of ZnO nanostructures was performed on silica substrates coated with a thin layer of Au. Chemical vapor phase deposition (CVD) was the method of choice to accomplish the structure formation. Cu and Sb doping of the structures was performed to evaluate the effects on structural and optoelectronic properties. The following nanostructures were grown on Si(100) surface: nanofilaments, nanoparticles, microflowers, nanorods, and nanocolumns. Only nanorods/columns are shown in this work. Morphology was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) were used for structural studies. Optoelecronic properties were explored using room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. PL data show the relative increase in the number of defects and decline in crystal quality upon dopant introduction. Some structural defects might be attributed to the diffusion of Cu ions into the lattices of ZnO, replacement of Zn by Cu, and ionic radii difference. These stacking faults are most likely the reason behind the dominance and broadening of DLE peak.<br/>

Vapor phase growth of ZnO nanocolumns and the effect of Cu doping on their photoelectric properties, morphology, and structure

256th National Meeting (2018)

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