TY - JOUR
T1 - Homogeneous vertical ZnO nanorod arrays with high conductivity on an in situ Gd nanolayer
AU - Flemban, Tahani H.
AU - Singaravelu, Venkatesh
AU - Devi, Assa Aravindh Sasikala
AU - Roqan, Iman S.
N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledgements: The authors thank P. Edwards and R. W. Martin for providing access to the CL measurement facility at the University of Strathclyde. We wish to thank Ms Ecaterina Ware from Imperial College London, UK for TEM sample preparation. We acknowledge the financial support from General Directorate of Research Grants, from King Abdul-Aziz City of Science and Technology.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - We demonstrate a novel, one-step, catalyst-free method for the production of size-controlled vertical highly conductive ZnO nanorod (NR) arrays with highly desirable characteristics by pulsed laser deposition using a Gd-doped ZnO target. Our study shows that an in situ transparent and conductive Gd nanolayer (with a uniform thickness of ∼1 nm) at the interface between a lattice-matched (11-20) a-sapphire substrate and ZnO is formed during the deposition. This nanolayer significantly induces a relaxation mechanism that controls the dislocation distribution along the growth direction; which consequently improves the formation of homogeneous vertically aligned ZnO NRs. We demonstrate that both the lattice orientation of the substrate and the Gd characteristics are important in enhancing the NR synthesis, and we report precise control of the NR density by changing the oxygen partial pressure. We show that these NRs possess high optical and electrical quality, with a mobility of 177 cm2 (V s)-1, which is comparable to the best-reported mobility of ZnO NRs. Therefore, this new and simple method has significant potential for improving the performance of materials used in a wide range of electronic and optoelectronic applications.
AB - We demonstrate a novel, one-step, catalyst-free method for the production of size-controlled vertical highly conductive ZnO nanorod (NR) arrays with highly desirable characteristics by pulsed laser deposition using a Gd-doped ZnO target. Our study shows that an in situ transparent and conductive Gd nanolayer (with a uniform thickness of ∼1 nm) at the interface between a lattice-matched (11-20) a-sapphire substrate and ZnO is formed during the deposition. This nanolayer significantly induces a relaxation mechanism that controls the dislocation distribution along the growth direction; which consequently improves the formation of homogeneous vertically aligned ZnO NRs. We demonstrate that both the lattice orientation of the substrate and the Gd characteristics are important in enhancing the NR synthesis, and we report precise control of the NR density by changing the oxygen partial pressure. We show that these NRs possess high optical and electrical quality, with a mobility of 177 cm2 (V s)-1, which is comparable to the best-reported mobility of ZnO NRs. Therefore, this new and simple method has significant potential for improving the performance of materials used in a wide range of electronic and optoelectronic applications.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/620934
UR - http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2015/RA/C5RA19798H
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84946950078&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1039/c5ra19798h
DO - 10.1039/c5ra19798h
M3 - Article
SN - 2046-2069
VL - 5
SP - 94670
EP - 94678
JO - RSC Adv.
JF - RSC Adv.
IS - 115
ER -