Raman and infrared spectroscopy of Ge nanoparticles embedded in ZnO matrix

Optical Properties of Semiconductor Nanomaterials

“…Even theoretically, PL and Raman can be treated using the same framework with the main difference that Raman scattering is a much faster process than PL is dynamically [143]. Raman spectra of NPs have been studied in a number of cases, including CdS [144][145][146][147][148][149], CdSe [150][151][152], ZnS [147], PbS [153], InP [154], Si [155][156][157][158][159], and Ge [100,[160][161][162][163][164]. Resonance Raman spectra of nanostructures of GaAs [165], Ge [166], and CdZnSe/ZnSe [167] have also been determined.…”

Formation of ST12 phase Ge nanoparticles in ZnO thin films

“…Moreover, electron affinities of Ge and ZnO being close to each other is expected to lead less confining potential for the light generated charge carriers [22,23]. In the literature, although there have been several works on Ge doped ZnO thin film structures [24][25][26] the number of works on Ge nanoparticles embedded in ZnO matrix is limited [20,21,27]. In these studies, ZnO: Ge nanocomposite structures have been commonly formed by conventional furnace annealing of sputter deposited as-prepared multilayered samples so as to promote formation of Ge nanoparticles in ZnO host.…”

Rapid thermal annealing induced formation of Ge nanoparticles in ZnO thin films: A detailed SAXS study

“…The fact that the energy difference between indirect and direct band transitions for Ge of about 0.12 eV makes it even more attractive for the purpose of changing the electronic structure around the band edge. Earlier studies on Ge nanoparticles (Ge-np) embedded host oxide thin films demonstrate significant change on the optical properties and observed changes are usually attributed to quantum confinement of electron-hole pairs in Ge-np [8][9][10]. Current literature is mostly focused on Ge-np embedded in SiO 2 due to the ease of compatibility in standard Si based semiconductor processing.…”