1 research outputs found
Low-Temperature Hydrothermal Synthesis of Colloidal Crystal Templated Nanostructured Single-Crystalline ZnO
Single
crystal semiconductors almost always exhibit better optoelectrical
properties than their polycrystalline or amorphous counterparts. While
three-dimensionally (3D) nanostructured semiconductor devices have
been proposed for numerous applications, in the vast majority of reports,
the semiconductor is polycrystalline or amorphous, greatly reducing
the potential for advanced properties. While technologies for 3D structuring
of semiconductors via use of a 3D template have advanced significantly,
approaches for epitaxially growing nanostructured single crystal semiconductors
within a template remain limited. Here, we demonstrate the epitaxial
growth of 3D-structured ZnO through colloidal templates formed from
225 and 600 nm diameter colloidal particles via a low-temperature
(∼80 °C) hydrothermal process using a flow reactor. The
effects of the pH of the reaction solution as well as the additive
used on the 3D epitaxy process are investigated. The optical and electrical
properties of the epitaxially grown nanostructured ZnO are probed
by reflectance, photoluminescence, and Hall effect measurements. It
is found that the epitaxially grown nanostructured ZnO generally exhibits
properties superior to those of polycrystalline ZnO. The demonstrated
hydrothermal epitaxy process should be applicable to other chemical
solution-based deposition techniques and help extend the range of
materials that can be grown into a 3D nanostructured single-crystalline
form