We present photoluminescence (PL) studies of GaN and ZnO nanocrystallites and powders. Our studies show that in addition to the intrinsic photoluminescence characteristics, the photoluminescence properties of the porous media are also a strong function of conditions such as ensemble size and powder density, ultraviolet-laser excitation power, and vacuum state. PL redshifts up to 120 meV were observed for GaN and ZnO crystallites and were attributed to laser heating and heat trapping in the ensemble. The electron-phonon interaction model for GaN indicated ensemble temperature ∼550 K, which is consistent with the finding obtained via high-temperature PL and Raman experiments. The PL in the vacuum state exhibited a significant redshift, ∼80 meV relative to that in air, and the PL of a dense ZnO pellet was found to resemble that of the bulk more than does a loose powder. The PL analyses indicated an excitonic emission at room temperature for both GaN and ZnO crystallites with intensity saturation occurring for large ensembles at high laser power.

One of the key issues of phonon dynamics of nano- and micrometer-scale crystals is the identification of the observed Raman modes. Due to the tilted orientation of small crystallites, the usual Raman selection rules pertaining to the symmetry axes no longer hold, and mixed-symmetry modes need to be considered in order to explain the polar phonon properties of the crystallites. The Raman modes of ZnO crystallites of the wurtzite structure were investigated via micro-Raman scattering. The nonpolar E2 mode was the predominant mode in the spectra for out-of-resonant conditions. In resonance the crystallites exhibited a predominant mode at ∼580cm−1, intermediate to the frequencies of the A1(LO) and the E1(LO) modes of a reference ZnO single crystal at 568 and 586cm−1, respectively. Our analysis indicates that the observed frequency of the crystallite ensemble can be explained in terms of Loudon’s model of a quasimode behavior that is due to a preferential orientation of a crystallite ensemble. Additionally, model calculation of the quasi-LO frequency of totally random ensemble is presented.

Magnesium-doped gallium oxide may be utilized as a semi-insulating material for future generations of power devices. Spectroscopy and hybrid functional calculations were used to investigate defect levels in Czochralski-grown β-Ga2O3. Substitutional Mg dopants act as deep acceptors, while substitutional Ir impurities are deep donors. Hydrogen-annealed Ga2O3:Mg shows an IR peak at 3492 cm−1, assigned to an O-H bond-stretching mode of a neutral MgH complex. Despite compensation by Ir and Si and hydrogen passivation, high concentrations of Mg (1019 cm−3) can push the Fermi level to mid-gap or lower.

This paper presents studies of the optical properties of MgxZn1−xO nanocrystals below and at the phase transition range where the solubility is limited. For the nanocrystals of Mg composition 0%–30%, the samples were found to consist of the wurtzite structure and exhibited band edge absorption as well as photoluminescence (PL) blueshift of ∼0.25 eV. The cold temperature PL of the ZnO nanocrystals exhibits the A-exciton and the bound exciton with values similar to that of the bulk ZnO reference sample. In addition, the PL of the ZnO nanocrystals was found to be dominated by an emission, referred to as the ε-PL, at ∼3.32 eV that is ∼56 meV below the A-exciton. The characteristics of the ε-PL agree well with model calculations of an emission that involves a transition of conduction-band electrons to acceptorlike states having an acceptor binding energy of ∼116 meV. The room temperature PL exhibited a strong exciton component, which is convoluted with the ε-PL. The PL line shapes of the MgxZn1−xO samples of Mg composition ranging from 3% up to 30% were found to exhibit the inherent alloy broadening, which masks the excitonic emissions. For samples at the Mg composition range of 40%–50%, the PL exhibited multiple emission peaks at a wide range of the UV spectrum starting from ∼3.22 eV, which is that of ZnO, up to 4 eV. Additionally, the x-ray diffraction of these samples was found to have diffractions corresponding to the wurtzite as well as to the cubic structures. The results for higher Mg composition imply that the nanoalloys have the onset of phase separation at Mg composition of ∼40%.

We report on the ultraviolet photoluminescence (UV-PL) and Raman properties of wurtzite MgxZn1−xO nanopowders of average size ∼30nm that were synthesized via the thermal decomposition method. For the studied composition range of 0⩽x⩽0.26, the room-temperature UV-PL was found to be tuned by ∼0.24eV towards the UV spectral range, and the PL emission was established to be due to an excitonic-type recombination mechanism. The first-order longitudinal optical (LO) Raman mode was found to exhibit a blueshift of ∼33cm−1 and the second-order LO a shift of ∼60cm−1. The LO mode of the nanopowders is discussed in terms of a mixed A1-E1 symmetry phonon known as a quasi-LO mode. The observed 30cm−1 blueshift indicates that the E1 is the principal symmetry component in the Raman scattering of the MgxZn1−xO nanopowders.

The MgxZn1−xO alloy system is emerging as an environmentally friendly choice in ultraviolet lighting and sensor technologies. Knowledge of defects which impact their optical and material properties is a key issue for utilization of these alloys in various technologies. The impact of phase segregation, structural imperfections, and alloy inhomogeneities on the phonon dynamics and electronic states of MgxZn1−xO thin films were studied via selective resonant Raman scattering (SRRS) and Urbach analyses, respectively. A series of samples with Mg composition from 0–68% were grown using a sputtering technique, and the optical gaps were found to span a wide UV range of 3.2–5.8 eV. The extent of the inherent phase segregation was determined via SRRS using two UV-laser lines to achieve resonance with the differing optical gaps of the embedded cubic and wurtzite structural domains. The occurrence of Raman scattering from cubic structures is discussed in terms of relaxation of the selection rules due to symmetry breaking by atomic substitutions. The Raman linewidth and Urbach energy behavior indicate the phase segregation region occurs in the range of 47–66% Mg. Below the phase segregation, the longitudinal optical phonons are found to follow the model of one-mode behavior. The phonon decay model of Balkanski et al. indicates that the major contributor to Raman linewidth arises from the temperature-independent term attributed to structural defects and alloy inhomogeneity, while the contribution from anharmonic decay is relatively small. Moreover, a good correlation between Urbach energy and Raman linewidth was found, implying that the underlying crystal dynamics affecting the phonons also affect the electronic states. Furthermore, for alloys with low Mg composition structural defects are dominant in determining the alloy properties, while at higher compositions alloy inhomogeneity cannot be neglected.

a b s t r a c tZnO is an efficient luminescent material in the UV-range~3.4 eV with a wide range of applications in optical technologies. Sputtering is a cost-effective and relatively straightforward growth technique for ZnO films; however, most as-grown films are observed to contain intrinsic defects which can significantly diminish the desirable UV-emission. In this research the defect dynamics and optical properties of ZnO sputtered films were studied via post-growth annealing in Ar or O 2 ambient, with X-ray diffraction (XRD), imaging, transmission and Urbach analysis, Raman scattering, and photoluminescence (PL). The imaging, XRD, Raman and Urbach analyses indicate significant improvement in crystal morphology and band-edge characteristics upon annealing, which is nearly independent of the annealing environment. The native defects specific to the as-grown films, which were analyzed via PL, are assigned to Zn i related centers that luminesce at 2.8 eV. Their presence is attributed to the nature of the sputtering growth technique, which supports Zn-rich growth conditions. After annealing, in either environment the 2.8 eV center diminished accompanied by morphology improvement, and the desirable UV-PL significantly increased. The O 2 ambient was found to introduce nominal O i centers while the Ar ambient was found to be the ideal environment for the enhancement of the UV-light emission: an enhancement of~40 times was achieved. The increase in the UV-PL is attributed to the reduction of Zn i -related defects, the presence of which in ZnO provides a competing route to the UV emission. Also, the effect of the annealing was to decrease the compressive stress in the films. Finally, the dominant UV-PL at the cold temperature regime is attributed to luminescent centers not associated with the usual excitons of ZnO, but rather to structural defects.

Chemiresistors (conductometric sensor) were fabricated on the basis of novel nanomaterials—silica nanosprings ALD coated with ZnO. The effects of high temperature and UV illumination on the electronic and gas sensing properties of chemiresistors are reported. For the thermally activated chemiresistors, a discrimination mechanism was developed and an integrated sensor-array for simultaneous real-time resistance scans was built. The integrated sensor response was tested using linear discriminant analysis (LDA). The distinguished electronic signatures of various chemical vapors were obtained at ppm level. It was found that the recovery rate at high temperature drastically increases upon UV illumination. The feasibility study of the activation method by UV illumination at room temperature was conducted.