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Stable zinc-blende ZnO thin films: formation and physical properties

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Abstract

The development of technologically important material zinc-blende ZnO has been hindered due to the difficulties inherent in obtaining a stable zinc-blende phase. In this paper, we fabricate the stable zinc-blende ZnO on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate through phase transformation from the originally wurtzite to the zinc-blende phase. X-ray diffraction data in combination with high-resolution TEM measurements provide the direct evidence on the formation of the well-defined zinc-blende structure with predominated (202) orientation. According to the experimental results and first principles calculations, the incorporation of titanium dopants into ZnO system favors the formation of the zinc-blende structure. The platinum (Pt) surface stabilizes the ZnO zinc-blende structure at the interface (thin film) due to its low ZnO/Pt interface energy, preventing the decomposition in ZnO wurtzite and Zn2TiO4. Additionally, magnetic and optical properties of the ZnO zinc-blende thin films are investigated. Unexpectedly, the film is found to exhibit magnetization of ~75 emu/cm3, while its ZnO wurtzite counterpart is non-ferromagnetic.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by A-Star SERC 1321202068, Singapore National Research Foundation under its Competitive Research Funding (NRF-CRP 8-2011-06 and NRF2008NRF-CRP002024), MOE-AcRF-Tier-2 (MOE2010-T2-2-121).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 7 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore, 117574, Singapore

    O. Chichvarina, T. S. Herng, K. C. Phuah, W. Xiao, N. Bao & J. Ding

  2. Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore, 117542, Singapore

    Y. P. Feng

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  1. O. Chichvarina
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  2. T. S. Herng
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  3. K. C. Phuah
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  4. W. Xiao
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  5. N. Bao
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  6. Y. P. Feng
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  7. J. Ding
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Correspondence to J. Ding.

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Chichvarina, O., Herng, T.S., Phuah, K.C. et al. Stable zinc-blende ZnO thin films: formation and physical properties. J Mater Sci 50, 28–33 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8561-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8561-0

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