Synthesis of well-aligned ZnO nanowires by simple physical vapor deposition on c-oriented ZnO thin films without catalysts or additives -: art. no. 024108

Well-aligned ZnO nanowires were synthesized by simple physical vapor deposition using c-oriented ZnO thin films as substrates without catalysts or additives. The synthesized ZnO nanowires have two typical average diameters: 60 nm in majority and 120 nm in minority. They are about 4 mum in length and well aligned along the normal direction of the substrate. Most of the synthesized ZnO nanowires are single crystalline in a hexagonal structure and grow along the [001] direction. The c-oriented ZnO thin films control the growth direction. Photoluminescence spectrum was measured showing a single strong ultraviolet emission (380 nm). Such result indicates that the ZnO nanowire arrays can be applied to excellent optoelectronic devices. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.