Toward the Growth of Self-Catalyzed ZnO Nanowires Perpendicular to the Surface of Silicon and Glass Substrates, by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Abstract

Vertically-oriented zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires were synthesized on glass and silicon substrates by Pulsed Laser Deposition and without the use of a catalyst. An intermediate c-axis oriented nanotextured ZnO seed layer in the form of nanowall network with honey comb structure allows the growth of high quality, self-forming, and vertically-oriented nanowires at relatively low temperature (<400 °C) and under argon atmosphere at high pressure (>5 Torr). Many parameters were shown to affect the growth of the ZnO nanowires such as gas pressure, substrate–target distance, and laser energy. Growth of a c-axis-crystalline array of nanowires growing vertically from the energetically favorable sites on the seed layer is observed. Nucleation occurs due to the matching lattice structure and the polar nature of the ZnO seed layer. Morphological, structural, and optical properties were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed highly c-axis aligned nanowires along the (002) crystal plane. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements showed a strong and narrow bandwidth of Ultraviolet (UV) emission, which shifts to lower wavelength with the increase of pressure.

Effects of Reaction Parameters on the Geometry and Crystallinity of Hydrothermally Synthesized ZnO Nanorods for Bio-Fouling Applications

“…As shown from SEM images, some nanorods were deposited randomly on the surface and others grown tilted, which could explain the polycrystalline structure of the sample. This result is consistent with the wurtzite structure of the grown ZnO nanorods (Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS) Card No: 05-0664) [40].…”

Analyzing the Mechanism of Zinc Oxide Nanowires Bending and Bundling Induced by Electron Beam under Scanning Electron Microscope Using Numerical and Simulation Analysis

“…Glass slides coated with thin film of both (ITO) (75 nm) and (ZnO SL) of 400 nm thickness [ 21 ] were used as substrates for subsequent growth of (ZnO NW) array with ( L ) as length and d as the average distance between two adjacent (NWs).…”

“…(ZnO) seed layer was deposited by (PLD) [ 22 , 23 ]. (ZnO NWs) were grown at 10 Torr Argon environment and temperature less than 500 °C, using laser pulse energy of 400 mJ and target–substrate distance of 6.5 cm [ 21 ]. The grown (ZnO NWs) were then characterized by (SEM).…”

Fabrication of Piezoelectric ZnO Nanowires Energy Harvester on Flexible Substrate Coated with Various Seed Layer Structures

“…Specifically, the sputter power was 65 W, and the chamber pressure was 5 mTorr under Ar ambient. Therefore, to control the crystallinity and the morphology of ZnO NWs, the ZnO seed layer is required [20][21][22]. For the hydrothermal growth of ZnO NWs, the complete procedure was previously described in detail by Tlemcani et al [10].…”