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Thermal annealing studies of the deep level emission in solution-grown zinc oxide nanorods

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Abstract

In this report, the effects of thermal annealing on the room temperature (RT) photoluminescence characteristics of solution-grown ZnO nanorods (ZNs) are presented. It is shown that the near surface regions of as-grown ZNs are rich in Zn. Within the detection limit of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), it is confirmed that the environment of annealing affects indeed the activation of intrinsic defects. Furthermore, thermal treatment at high temperatures removes H-related defects as expected; and this removal process is found to affect significantly the RT luminescence properties of ZNs, especially when ZNs are annealed sequentially from 300 °C to ~700 °C. Specifically, the passivation of vacancy-related defects by H is demonstrated following thermal treatment in this temperature range. Finally, the green luminescence (~500 nm) that evolves following annealing above ~800 °C is assigned to Zn vacancy defects.

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Acknowledgements

This work is based upon research supported by the South Africa Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa. The financial support from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) is also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa

    Crispin Munyelele Mbulanga, Z. N. Urgessa, S. R. Tankio Djiokap & J. R. Botha

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  1. Crispin Munyelele Mbulanga
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  2. Z. N. Urgessa
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  3. S. R. Tankio Djiokap
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Correspondence to Crispin Munyelele Mbulanga.

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Mbulanga, C.M., Urgessa, Z.N., Tankio Djiokap, S.R. et al. Thermal annealing studies of the deep level emission in solution-grown zinc oxide nanorods. Appl. Phys. A 123, 129 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-017-0755-2

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