Defect-mediated modulation of optical properties in vertically aligned ZnO nanowires via substrate-assisted Ga incorporation

摘要

We report the defect-mediated modulation of optical properties in vertically aligned ZnO nanowires via a substrate-assisted Ga incorporation method. We find that Ga atoms were incorporated into a ZnO lattice via the diffusion of liquid Ga droplets from a GaAs substrate in which as-grown ZnO nanowires were placed face down on the GaAs substrate and annealed at 650 degrees C. Based on structural and compositional characterization, it was confirmed that the substrate-assisted incorporation of Ga can induce a high defect density in vertically aligned ZnO nanowires grown on a Si substrate. In addition, distinct differences in optical properties between as-grown and Ga-incorporated ZnO nanowires were found and discussed in terms of defect-mediated modifications of energy band states, which were associated with the generation and recombination of photoexcited carriers. Furthermore, it was clearly observed that for Gaincorporated ZnO nanowires, the photocurrent rise and decay processes were slower and the photocurrents under UV illumination were significantly higher compared with as-grown nanowires.